


Teamwork 2

by Asuka Kureru (Askerian)



Series: Teamworkverse [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/F, F/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Teen Pregnancy, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-20
Updated: 2012-10-20
Packaged: 2017-11-16 16:33:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 87,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/541568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Askerian/pseuds/Asuka%20Kureru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Teamwork. Training, house, baby, Kyuubi, oh my. What, you thought life would be easy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1 - Moving (Sakura)

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning to rewrite the first half of this chapter, because Sakura's mother is all over the place. I didn't find the time/inspiration/motivation, and I've been sitting on this fic for years now and might as well post it and hopefully edit later. Anyway, my apologies.  
> Re: Sakura's parents, at the time I wrote this story we did not know what they looked like, were named, or their personalities, so I made them up from scratch.

"You are NOT going to be around this monster any longer, Sakura!"

Her parents had been, as expected, frantic. For a few days, her mother had even refused to let her out of her sight; she'd had to lie to her to be able to see Sasuke-kun alone -- something about only authorized ninja being allowed to visit Sasuke's wing. The fib seemed painfully obvious to her, and she cringed at the thought that Kakashi-sensei was finally warping her personality just like he'd warped Naruto and Sasuke.

Haruno Hana already had difficulties tolerating the risk that her baby daughter would disappear during a mission -- but to have her disappear in the middle of Konoha, during what had been supposed to be a calm night out between friends, had been too much.

The lack of clearance was a great excuse to avoid going into details about what exactly had gone wrong during Sakura's visit. But the second Sakura found the moron who had let it slip that the Kyuubi had been involved, she was going to tear out his liver and stuff it up his nose. The first three days after she came back had been hard enough when all her mother wanted was to randomly hug her, but when the fourth day started with an argument over her going back to her team at the end of the week...

Sakura tried to talk, but could only produce a bewildered "What?" as reply. The least she could say was that she was flabbergasted. Hana had always been reserved about Naruto, but as she was not a ninja and hadn't seen first-hand the destruction the demon fox had caused, she didn't have for him the seething hatred Ino's or her other friends' parents had for him.

Well, Sakura had assumed so, and while she blinked and gathered her wits, her mother launched into her argument.

"I know you're dedicated, Sakura, and I understand that you take things like clearance seriously, which is why --" her lower lip wobbled, and Sakura felt awful for lying and hiding things from her -- "why you can't tell me what he did to you, but Tanaka Megumi said he kidnapped you, and -- she suggested other things -- horrible things -- and I don't want you around him any longer!"

Sakura tried to reply, but her mother wasn't stopping -- she was pouring out everything at once, everything she must have been thinking during the three days. Now Sakura understood the worried, "discreet" sidelong looks better.

"Being in danger of injury or death during your missions is one thing, and I'm proud of you for being so brave, even though you give me more white hairs than your father ever had to his name--"

That was saying a lot, seeing as her father had been born white-haired, even though now he was balding quite badly at the top.

"...but being in constant danger because of your own teammate! That is unacceptable."

 _/Shit. Fucking gossips./_ She had known it would happen, eventually, but she had hoped it would take longer. Sakura took her mother's hands, that the older woman was wringing nervously, and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

"Mom, calm down. I don't know what you heard, but it was nonsense. The whole thing was a misunderstanding. Naruto..."

Her mother shook her head in denial, almost unraveling her heavy chignon of graying red hair. "That _thing_ \--I heard -- I wish you would just tell me! I understand how loyal you can be to your teammates, and I understand that you've always been afraid to be rejected by the ninjas -- I never stopped you when you decided you wanted to be one as well, never! But you're taking this solidarity too far. If he hurt you, then you are going to change teams, or you are going to stop being a ninja."

"But he didn't hurt me!!" Sakura protested, letting go of her mother's hands. "And that's not even what you mean, is it? Why can't YOU tell me what you believe he's done?"

Her mother's lower lip wobbled, and Sakura fought not to wrap her in her arms. She was making her mother cry. She hated it.

"I hear he r-raped-- oh, god, Sakura!"

 _/It's not rape when there's consent,/_ Inner Sakura muttered back, but Sakura had more sense than to blurt it out like that.

"He most certainly did not! If he had, I'd be trying to kill him right now, I would not protect him!"

Apparently alluding to her willingness to kill people who wronged her wasn't the way to reassure her mother.

"My baby girl..."

"Mom, I'm seventeen, and I've been a ninja since I was twelve. I'm not a baby anymore." Half her age-mates were living on their own by now; the ones who belonged to a large clan, like Hinata, Neji and Kiba, had moved to independent rooms. By ninja standards, she was an adult.

But by civilian standards, she was still a kid. Sometimes she loved it -- it was good not to have so many responsibilities, and she liked being her mother's baby girl, liked going to buy pretty dresses with her and having her play with her hair and watching her cook treats -- but sometimes, when she wanted to give her opinion on things like politics or the level of freedom she could claim, it stifled her.

"Sometimes, I think you want to prove how mature you are too hard. You ARE mature for your age, Sakura -- but you're still underage."

"Not by shinobi law," she countered sharply. Shinobi were legally under the responsibility and guidance of their parents until they turned fourteen or became chuunin, whichever came first. After that, it was traditional that they continue to defer to their parents as long as they lived under their roof, but if they wanted to move out, no one could officially stop them. Sakura didn't want to move out -- but she was pretty sure that if she'd been allowed to go through the exams again, she would have passed by now, which made her twice adult.

"The shinobi law is ridiculous -- how many of the genius children were allowed to climb through the ranks and killed and killed until they broke or went crazy ? It doesn't let children be children -- it only cares about ability, not emotional maturity, so don't use it as an excuse!"

 _/... damn, that was a good one,/_ Inner Sakura muttered, annoyed at being forced to concede that point.

"... So you mean that at seventeen, I'm not emotionally mature enough to know better than to engage in an abusive relationship? Believe me, mom, if Naruto dared to treat me wrong, I'd beat him up so bad his grandchildren would feel it!"

A thought came at her like a kick to the chest and her breath hitched. _Our_ grandchildren.

Hana's eyes were narrowed in righteous indignation. "Maybe you don't realize it, Sakura, but he's probably not as nice -- Sakura? Are you okay?"

"... I'm fine," she replied, voice wavering. She'd probably paled slightly. It was just -- just the reminder that -- god. She lifted a hand to her stomach, fancying that she could feel the little spark of warmth inside her, and fearing/hoping/wondering.

Her baby. Naruto's baby. Maybe. Maybe.

She understood her mother's fears, but she didn't want to hear her badmouth him. She just -- couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand anyone badmouthing Naruto, stubborn, faithful, chivalrous, silly Naruto, without even knowing him. Her Naruto. Her boy. Hers.

"Don't. You don't know him. He's sweet and funny and silly. He's risked his life to save me countless times. He's always protected me, cheered me on, smiled at me. Don't. Just don't. You don't know him. He's _not the fucking fox_!"

Hana jerked back, startled and visibly stung. Sakura allowed herself a second to feel guilty.

"Sorry -- but he's _not_ , mom. I know you think you know better, but _you don't know him at all_. He's the fox's container, NOT the fox -- and I know people say it corrupted him, but how many of these people actually talked with him? Even just once? Why don't you stop listening to gossip for once and actually trust your daughter to know someone she's lived alongside for over five years?"

Her voice had turned pleading at the end, but then she was feeling pretty desperate. She hadn't inherited her stubbornness from her father, that was for sure, and the way Hana was scowling...

"Mind your tone and language, young lady."

Sakura winced and lowered her head. She didn't feel that chastened, but she didn't want to aggravate her mother now.

"You're too close. I can't expect you to be objective."

"Oh, because YOU are?!" she lashed back, incensed. Now THAT was grossly unfair!

"Maybe not," Hana replied just as quickly as her, "but how can you expect me to be? This is about my baby daughter's safety!"

"I'M NOT A BABY ANYMORE!" she yelled, slamming her fist on the table.

The wood cracked under her knuckles.

Her mother stared as the table fell to the ground in two pieces, a plate landing on Sakura's foot and rolling off to crack against the wall. "... That's it. Go to your room. We'll talk later, when you're ready to be reasonable."

"Don't you mean, 'when you're ready to admit that I'm right and you're wrong'?" Sakura replied, shoving her anger down forcefully and leaving only cold control behind. She would not convince her mother that she was mature by throwing temper tantrums, but neither was she disposed to let her believe that Sakura obeyed her for any other reason than because she wanted to.

Hana looked about to suffocate from astonishment and anger. "Sakura--"

"No. We are going to talk, calmly and reasonably, and you will not guilt me into acting like a chastened child. We are going to list the things that trouble you, then we will talk about them until they don't anymore, and then -- I have some things I have to tell you too, but I am not saying anything until you're ready to listen and try to understand."

Now, her mother was suffocating. "Chastened -- _reasonably_ \-- READY TO UNDERSTAND?!"

Sakura felt a flush of anger rise to her forehead and took a deep breath, then another.

"I refuse to 'try to understand' why you put this -- this _monster_ over your family!"

"BECAUSE HE IS FAMILY! He's--"

Sakura noticed with horror that her mother's wide-eyed stare was fixed on the hand that was protectively splayed over her belly. "Uh. I didn't mean it like that..." she attempted, but Hana was clearly not listening.

"Oh god. He did. He did rape you."

"It wasn't rape, mom," she said softly.

Haruno Hana sat down on the closest chair heavily, her grey-blue eyes painfully wide.

"... my little girl..."

Her breath hitched. Sakura's control vanished. "Oh, mom -- don't, don't cry, it's not that horrible, really! You -- you're going to be a grandma, and okay it's a bit early, and you're still young -- but -- don't cry, _please_!"

She reached out, hesitated, then decided to hell with it and hugged her mother tightly. Hana was still for a few seconds, but then she was clinging back and sobbing, babbling words that Sakura had a hard time understanding. Hearing her mother cry, even without knowing that it was all her fault, was horrible, just plain horrible.

"Shh, mom, mommy, calm down, everything's going to be okay, I promise -- everything's going to be fine -- just breathe, okay? Just breathe."

"Fine? _Fine_? I don't -- I can't -- my baby, pregnant -- Kyuubi no Youko..."

Sakura pursed her lips slightly -- it was that or letting them quiver -- and slowly let go.

"I've already seen Hokage-sama about it -- that's partly why it took so long for me to come back. She's going to keep an eye on the baby, make sure it grows up right. But barring an accident, he should be normal. Just a normal baby, mom."

"H-hokage-sama?"

"... yes... she was understandably worried too, but she made sure that Naruto's ... ah, tenant shouldn't interfere." _/...too much, you mean. Because he's already interfering./_ She couldn't tell her mother that if she wanted her to calm down, though.

Hana seemed mollified for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "He's still what he is, and don't you tell me there's no danger at all. People hate him -- they might hate you, too. Even if you don't tell anyone who's the father -- my daughter, having a child alone! It's going to be so hard for you, and ... Maybe you should..."

"Get rid of the child? I thought about it. I couldn't. I just couldn't."

"But it's been -- how long?"

"A week," she whispered. Just a week. So short a time for her world to change so drastically.

It hurt to see the naked hope in her eyes. "Then you may yet change your mind! Think about it more than that, Sakura!"

She decided not to reply that it was too late, way too late -- that the child was anchored to her and it would kill her to abort... literally. "I will. But don't hope for too much."

"Even if _he_ was a normal boy, he's seventeen -- no boy I ever heard of wants to be a father so early. He'll abandon you, or he just won't be able to deal -- you'll be alone!"

Sakura shook her head, slowly. If there was one thing she believed in, it was that being alone was not going to happen. "... he loves me. He really does. He'd -- he'd die for me." That didn't have as much to do with being her significant other as it had to do with being her teammate, but her mother would never understand what it meant to fight and kill and save people and each other together, day after day after day -- sometimes she thought even romantic, soulmates-love straight from a novel could never compare to the solidity, the depth of the bond you developed with the ones who guarded your back. "He'd do anything -- and he'll be a great dad -- maybe not very conventional, but caring and attentive and mom, _please_ , don't cry..."

Her mother was wiping her tears, biting her lip. She was shaking her head, unconsciously, denying what Sakura was saying. It hurt. "I thought -- I thought you were in love with that other boy -- that Sasuke!"

Sakura was silent for a few seconds. "I was. I am."

"Then why are you locking yourself in a relationship with someone who, as far as I know, is just a friend? If you love someone else? You're not going to be happy, Sakura -- and you have to think of what people will say, how they will treat you -- it will only make it worse..."

Sakura bit her lip. "... I love Naruto... I really do. But -- Sasuke..." How could she tell her? How could she explain? _/Mom, your cute little daughter is a greedy slut./_ No, she had a feeling that wouldn't work. "It's... complicated..."

Her mother's voice broke. "Then explain! Explain so I can understand, because I don't, I don't understand and I want to!"

"If you don't even understand that Naruto loves me, you're not going to understand the rest!" she snapped back, swallowing tears. "He's one of the best things that ever happened to me -- you don't have a clue how it feels to have someone accept you, cherish you that unconditionally--" Her mother couldn't have a clue, because Sakura herself barely understood it, barely realized the depth of the gift. But she knew enough to treasure it.

She choked on a sob, closed her eyes not to see her mother doing the same. Some part of her had hoped that her mother would be happy for her. Objectively she'd known that it was stupid -- she hadn't even been happy for herself at first; even now she wasn't sure she entirely was -- and that even in the best of conditions it would probably take months for her parents to fully understand and accept her new situation -- and this situation was so far from good, it could only get worse if her mother learned about the threesome.

"Can you accept? I don't ask you to understand, but can you accept?"

"Do you know what you're asking? Accept that my daughter is -- is -- with THAT mons-- that _boy_ \-- and pregnant, and you're barely seventeen --"

Her mother was not ready to listen. And she still thought that Naruto was a monster. Naruto was not a monster. He was a brat, and a bother sometimes, but not a monster. Sakura closed her eyes. Then calmly, she stepped back and bowed to Hana. Then she turned away and went to her bedroom.

"... Sakura? What are you doing?" Her mother was hovering behind her, wringing her hands, eyes wide.

She grabbed her emergency pack from under the bed and shouldered it, eyes shuttered. "I'm giving us space. Space to breathe and think. I don't -- I can't -- if I say anything more, or you do, then -- I love you, mom. I love dad too. We'll talk later. Promise."

Before Hana could add anything, before she could reply, Sakura had disappeared.

+

Her steps had directed her exactly where she always went when things got bad, but she didn't notice until her hand landed on the door of the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino wasn't in sight at first, and realizing that she may very well be on a mission, Sakura suddenly felt like crying right in the middle of the street.

"Welcome, how may I help you -- ah, it's you, forehead-girl." Emerging from the back, Ino was wearing a dirty apron and wiping her hands on a rag, a bunch of flowers that Sakura didn't feel like identifying under her arm.

"Ino..." With faint horror, she heard herself choke; two seconds later the bunch had been abandoned on the counter, the little plaque indicating the shop's opening hours had been turned and she was being pulled to the backyard and the greenhouse.

"Okay, spill." Ino pushed her until she sat on a bench in the corner, crossed her arms on her chest and waited. Sakura breathed in the smell of the flowers spilling over the sitting spot, trying to calm down.

"I fought with mom." She lowered her head; both her hands were fisted in her lap.

Ino argued with her father about every other day; huge rows that contained screaming and throwing things and sometimes an amazing array of ninja skills, and brought all the neighbors to the windows to watch the neverending Yamanaka drama. But it was very different; Sakura almost never did more with her parents than exchange a few annoyed comments -- which were usually enough to worry her to death, seeing as her parents were not the arguing sort at all.

"Wow. Must have been a bad one. What was it about?"

"I -- I... Ino... I don't know w-what I can say..."

Belatedly, she was remembering that there was a fairly good chance Ino would not be happy to learn that Sakura had snagged Sasuke for herself, and she wasn't sure how the blonde would react to learning that the shyer, more traditional Sakura had managed to get herself in a threesome. And there was the Kyuubi problem... what was she going to think of her now?

"What's your level of clearance?" she whispered. It was probably higher than hers; Ino was a chuunin. But she wasn't sure it was enough.

"Whoa there. If it's village business, then you might be better off not telling me."

"It's -- okay, not telling details. But -- Okay." She took a deep breath, then another -- then yet another. Ino was looking worried. "It's -- something happened the other evening with Sasuke-kun and Naruto and I'm pregnant."

Okay, maybe that was a lot to blurt out in one go. Ino seemed to need a while to digest that one.

"Uh. Okay. Just so we're clear, Sasuke-kun and Naruto are related to the reason why you're pregnant?"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh, even if it sounded more like a sob. "Rather, yes."

"So. That sort of related. Yeah, I. Wow. Crap. Wait-- not that I think it's inherently bad that they were but -- wait wait wait, which one of them?"

Sakura whimpered and curled up, hiding in her hands. Her face was burning.

Ino didn't move for a few seconds, her breath just a bit too fast, and then she reached out and tentatively touched her shoulder.

"... I... Don't know," Sakura admitted, so softly she wasn't sure she'd actually said anything.

Ino squeezed her shoulder softly. "Okay, okay. I'm guessing there was a good reason -- I mean, I know you, Sakura." Her tone turned from shell-shocked but hiding it into falsely snide and she nudged her gently. "Your forehead is way too huge and your breasts way too small to reel in two men at once. You vile temptress, you."

Sakura couldn't help it, she laughed. Sobbed a little, but mostly laughed.

"Hey, wait a sec. You had sex with Sasuke-kun! You bitch."

Sakura flinched. Ino grinned.

"Was he any good?"

"Ino!"

Ino was tapping her chin with her finger mock-thoughtfully. "Yeah, well, most pretty boys think their looks will be enough for everything, but alas, I have learned it doesn't compensate for lousy skills--"

Sakura whimpered and put her hands on her ears firmly. Ino smirked at her, tugging on her wrists until she let go.

"More seriously... I'm... a little jealous. Wait, scratch that, a lot jealous. But... sure, I still like him, but... you love him, don't you?"

Sakura nodded, looking down at her knees.

"Then I'm happy for you. And we're going to spar tomorrow, and this time I will kick your ass."

"Heh. You can try, Ino-pig."

Ino seemed worried suddenly. "Uh -- unless it was just sex? It wasn't --"

"Oh, no. We're... well, together. Sort of. I guess."

Ino's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You _guess_?"

"Okay, okay. We're together, but -- it's not as simple as that."

"... because you don't know who's the father?"

"No... I..." She took a deep breath. "He -- he offered. He's going to m-marry me. I'll be an Uchiha. Uchiha Sakura. That sounds weird, doesn't it?"

Slowly, Ino sat down on the ground, her eyes empty. Then she shook her head, and looked up. Sakura gave her a worried look, but Ino refused to talk about what was bothering her.

"I... see. But what if it's Naruto?"

Sakura played with a lock of pink hair nervously. Ino hadn't joked back; the marriage proposal must have shaken her rather badly. "Well... Officially -- it can't happen. Too much trouble. But... well, unofficially, there's a good chance it's him." She took a deep breath and continued. "You see, Naruto has this -- this problem that makes everyone old enough to remember fear and hate him -- I would tell you more but yeah, the clearance problem ... I can just tell you that it's like a bloodline, and it's potentially very dangerous, and my mom is already freaking out and I haven't even told her about Sasuke yet!"

"Yeah, I see the problem. She'd be happier just knowing that you're marrying Sasuke..."

"I already told her about me and Naruto. I'm not going to hide him," Sakura growled, scowling.

Ino blinked at her, visibly surprised by her protective response.

"You mean... it wasn't a one-time thing then."

Sakura swallowed nervously. She should have explained better. There was a difference between having sex with Naruto by accident, and dating him. Maybe Ino ...

"Hey, I'm not saying I was expecting it, but you know him better than me, and if you like him, then I say good for you. I just... I didn't know you liked him, that's all," Ino finished awkwardly.

Sakura lowered her head, hiding behind her hair. "I... it's weird. He was just -- just my friend, you know, I didn't even see him like that -- and now, with everything that's happened... it's just so weird."

"Oh, I get it. Before, he was just a boy, and now he's a _boy_."

Ino was leering. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Something like that, yes. I mean, he's still silly and noisy and a glutton, but ... but when he caresses my hair -- or when he smiles at me... I don't know, I feel so weird inside, because he's still Naruto, one of my teammates, someone I've known for years, and yet... And yet there's a whole side of him I didn't know... and he loves me, Ino, he loves me so much and I don't know what to do..."

She realized she was sobbing when Ino enveloped her in a hug, rubbing her back gently.

"Okay, I'm kind of confused," she commented in a soft, soothing tone. "We're going to go over it again, to sort out the details. Okay?"

Sakura nodded, sniffling.

"So you and Sasuke-kun and Naruto ... had a wild passionate orgy."

Sakura elbowed her friend, but didn't deny it.

"Then you got pregnant. Then Sasuke, being his handsome and regal self, proposes to m-marry you. How do you feel about that? Just that bit."

Sakura registered the hesitation and gave her friend a worried glance, but she was smiling with determination; she would not talk about it just yet. Sakura took a minute to think. "I'm... happy. Deliriously happy. I'm scared too -- that he's only doing it out of duty. That would be worse than being a single mother. I know he tolerates me, even has a sort of affection for me, but he's so uncommunicative..."

"Right, so at some point you need to sit on him and make him tell you out loud. Then you'll be sure. Now about Naruto. How did he take it?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh -- he wasn't jealous at all. Because -- you know... it's Sasuke, and... it's Sasuke." Sakura tried finding a better explanation, but it was difficult, because for her, it made perfect sense.

"And Sasuke, was he jealous?"

Sakura bit her lip. "No." She disliked herself for being bothered by that point, when she was relieved that Naruto wasn't jealous. One part of her would have been thrilled to see Sasuke getting possessive of her. But what bothered her the most was that her first thought had been, 'no, Sasuke hasn't been jealous of me'.

"And now, who's with who?"

Sakura winced and took a deep breath. She was pretty sure Ino had guessed, but it was the first time she was going to actually say it.

"Us. The three of us." It was actually pretty liberating to say it. "We're together, Sasuke-kun, Naruto and me. They're -- my boyfriends."

She met Ino's eyes, and started giggling. She had said it, and it didn't sound particularly depraved, and Ino hadn't jumped on her feet to tell her in detail how perverted and immoral she was. And the sky hadn't fallen on her head.

"... congrats, I guess."

Immediately, Sakura felt her giddy laughter die. Ino had sounded... weird. As if she was gamely pretending to be happy.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried. Maybe Ino was disgusted finally, and was just too good a friend to tell her openly...

"It's just -- it's the end of an era, you know?" Ino replied, a slightly forced smile on her lips.

She still looked sort of ... almost hurt, and uncertain; Sakura didn't like that. She took her friend's hand and squeezed gently. "Ino-chan?"

"Naw, it's nothing, I just -- I figured he... maybe he... didn't swing that way. Since we never heard of him ever dating... And now he's ready to share you with another guy. Just so he can have you. Just... wow."

Sakura bit her lip not to blurt out her thoughts about that side of the problem. There was already a lot for Ino to deal with. She wasn't going to start babbling about the faint niggling worry that it was more about her sharing Sasuke with Naruto, about Sasuke humoring her because Naruto wanted her in.   
  
"...I don't even like him so much anymore. I mean, sure he's handsome and mysterious and all that, but. I mean, he's a prick too -- and he almost got Chouji and Shikamaru killed."

They fell silent for a minute. By a wordless agreement, Sasuke's almost-betrayal was usually ignored.

"So, no, I don't like him like that anymore. But it's still a bit weird. To be frank... I never thought that either of us would ever have him -- it was almost more of a thing to bond over, in a really twisted way -- see what I mean?"

Sakura winced and nodded.

"But you did it. You got him. You _won_." Now Ino looked annoyed. "I demand a rematch."

Sakura started to laugh. "You already scheduled a fight for tomorrow, Ino-pig. So unless you mean we should fight over Shikamaru or something..."

"Hell no. Look at Shika and die. Your harem's already big enough."

"Aha, so--"

"NO. I am NOT possessive of my teammate. It doesn't mean anything -- stop laughing at me, forehead-girl!" Huffing, Ino poked her in the ribs. "What do you plan to do then? Go live with them?"

Sakura was a bit startled by the change of subject, but she was now relaxed enough that thinking of such things didn't panic her anymore. Or not a lot anyway.

"I don't think so. I mean -- we're okay, but -- it's so new and I'm so confused and it's so complicated -- it's moving so fast, Ino... I just -- I need somewhere... neutral, you see? Where I can calm down and think things through -- and where my mother can't think I'm choosing Naruto over her. You see?"

"But, don't you _want_ to see him? Them?"

She tugged on a lock of her hair guiltily. "...Not especially -- not now, I'm tired, I don't know what to say..."

"But they should know about your mom. And maybe you'll feel better if you get to spend some time with them."

"... not yet."

Ino sighed, then shrugged. "Okay. You can stay at my place. No problem. And I'll even drop your parents a note so they don't worry. 'kay?"

Sakura hugged her, tight. "...thank you, Ino. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Oh, you'd probably mope and make a mess of things. Just like now, except way worse. Good thing I'm so dedicated." She winked teasingly, and Sakura relaxed enough to crack a small smile. "Besides, this isn't going to be free."

"Oh -- I'll help out at the shop, of course..."

"I was thinking of another sort of currency, forehead-girl."

"Eh?" She knew what Naruto would have thought of such a direct line; she squirmed and prayed for her blush not to show.

"Details! I want details. Juicy details."

Sakura started to blush.

"So, how are they in bed? Any good? And the rear view? You have to tell me everything about the rear view-- tight, shapely, muscled? Who's got the biggest--"

"gh--INO!"


	2. 2 - Hug Her Damn It (Sasuke)

"The paint's supposed to go on the walls, not on the floor, idiot."

Sitting on the wooden guardrail that lined the open side of the corridor going to his apartment, Sasuke glared disdainfully at Naruto. Naruto was currently attempting to cover a large scorch mark on the wall with sky-blue paint. So far there was more on his face and hair and shirt than there was on the floor, and there was more on the floor than there was over the wall. The burnt stretch of wall was rather noticeable, proof that the trap Sasuke had placed on his door had been effective. Naruto was going to need hours to cover it all up. It was his own fault for not remembering Sasuke's warning anyway.

Sasuke was, in fact, rather entertained. He would have been more entertained if he hadn't been utterly unnerved by the knowledge that his small apartment was full of boxes and that there was a sleeping bag laid out on the couch.

He'd come back from the hospital the day before, to find his bare, quiet apartment utterly invaded by Naruto's presence. He hadn't thought he would mind so much -- well, he'd known he would mind the noise and the presence when he wanted to be alone, but Naruto had shown a considerable amount of understanding when Sasuke had locked himself in his bedroom. The blond had been quiet --or had tried to at least.

But Sasuke had been ready for that sort of annoyance. He hadn't been ready to see Naruto drag himself in the kitchen in the morning, wearing only low-riding pajama pants and that ridiculous nightcap he'd owned forever. He hadn't been expecting the sheer importance of that stupid, stupid problem of how to behave around the idiot. Whether to insult him or not -- that one had solved itself on its own, because Naruto was eminently insultable and tended to look at him weird when he was polite anyway; whether to stare at his bare chest openly or covertly, whether to nod his good morning, or ignore him, or --kiss him hello maybe?

Somehow, he couldn't imagine kissing Naruto casually. In the middle of sex, when it was more about biting and licking and fucking with their tongues, no problem --but just like that? No way. It was too -- too... weird. Too much what a lovey-dovey girl would do, and he was a man, and Naruto was his rival before anything else.

They hadn't done anything even peripherally related to sex either. It wasn't just that his still healing ribs didn't put him in the right frame of mind, or that Naruto had so far, during their whole forty hours of cohabitation, managed to annoy him at least twice an hour, which made seeing him as someone to be desired rather unlikely. Without Sakura there, at least for their first time after "the night", it just felt ... wrong.

Anyway, Naruto grinned maybe a bit more than he usually did, but apart from that he behaved like usual. So long as he wasn't expecting flowers and candlelit dinners, all was fine with Sasuke. Paying Sakura a bit of special attention was going to be hard enough; if they both expected him to romance them, he'd probably run off.

"Argh, I don't get it. It wasn't so difficult to paint the Hokage monument, and I did THAT suspended on a rope!"

Naruto's shirt was now more blue than orange. The combination was jarring. Sasuke decided not to tell him about the yet-to-be-deactivated seal that was intended to repel exploding notes and alterations to the structure of the walls, and made sticking anything to them more difficult.

"What are you sneering for, bastard?"

"You're an eyesore," he replied offhandedly. "More so than usual."

"And you're a stuck-up, sarcastic son of a bitch."

"I try."

Naruto paused, blinked at him, and started to laugh. Sasuke allowed himself a faint smirk.

"I'm gonna need to warn everyone that you actually have a sense of humor. Though no one will believe me."

"They'll run away screaming at the sight of you, anyway," Sasuke replied, giving his orange-and-blue shirt a pointed look.

"Okay, okay! Here, you happy?" Muttering in annoyance, Naruto whipped off his shirt. Of course he also managed to spread paint on his chest and to flick the brush wrong, ending up with a splattering of little sky-blue dots running up his biceps to end at the base of his neck. Sasuke knew that paint was toxic. It didn't prevent him from wanting to lick it off.

"... I think I see what you meant, Sakura."

Ino had paused in mid-step, her foot hovering over the landing. Sasuke frowned; he'd been so distracted by Naruto's antics that he had dismissed her approach, subconsciously deciding that she was a neighbor or something. A pink head popped up behind her and Sakura appeared, blinking quizzically.

"What do you -- oh."

Naruto was bouncing toward them, and Sasuke knew him enough to know that he was grinning. "Sakura-chan!"

Naruto paused before her, almost bouncing in place. He was probably wondering if he could, or should, kiss her. Ino's presence seemed to be a deterrent, though.

"Hey, Ino. What did you mean?" he asked the blonde girl, scratching his head.

"Oh, Sakura said you had... grown up. I can see that now." She gave Naruto a flirtatious leer. Sasuke scowled and slid off his perch cautiously.

"Sakura," he said quietly in greeting.

Sakura looked up at him and gave him a shy smile. There was something off about it -- about her... and he wasn't quite sure, but Ino watched him come closer as if she wanted to hover protectively.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto blinked, and stared at Sakura. "Eh?"

"What makes you think--" she started, looking away quickly. That pretty much cinched it.

"You didn't say nothing was wrong. What's wrong?"

"Uhm. Well. It's..." She sighed, quietly, and gave Naruto and him a worried look. "Let's go inside."

He glanced at Naruto quickly. The blond was frowning now.

Sasuke pushed his door open and pulled Naruto's sleeping bag off the couch, rolling it up and throwing it over a stack of boxes. Ino and Sakura followed, Ino looking around shamelessly. Sasuke frowned -- having Naruto invade his space was already annoying, but having Ino poke at things...

"Put that down," he grunted, and tugged a scroll out of her hands. "Sit."

'And stay out of the way' was left unsaid, though not unheard, if one judged by her expression.

"Don't mind him, he's in prickly bastard mode," Naruto commented cheerfully as he walked in.

"Put paint on anything and die," Sasuke retorted dryly before disappearing in the kitchen.

"See? He's been like that since he came back from the hospital. Grouchy prick."

"I think he can still hear you, Naruto," Ino replied in an amused whisper.

"I can," Sasuke commented as he walked back in, carrying glasses and a bottle of apple juice.

"S'okay, I didn't say anything he doesn't know I think," Naruto replied with a chuckle. He was sitting on a chair. Sasuke almost kicked him off, then realized he was using his pajama top to cover the seat and decided not to bitch.

"Drip on anything..." he warned anyway as he put the bottle and glasses down on a nearby box.

"And die, yeah, I know."

Ino was watching him and Naruto way too closely. He didn't like it.

"There's no tea left?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not your maid. Make it yourself."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's a wonder how you can be so visibly well bred and yet still be such a prick about it."

Sakura sighed and started to get up. "I can--"

"No." Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "You can sit and tell us what's wrong."

Sakura winced and seemed to brace herself. "My mother knows about Naruto and the baby. I told her yesterday. I'm staying over at Ino's for now."

Even Naruto didn't need any help deciphering that one. "She didn't take it too well, did she?" he replied, grimacing, and reached out to touch her shoulder. There, he seemed to remember that he had paint on his fingers, and paused.

Sakura gave him a crooked smile and sighed. "No, not too well."

"You should have started with the bit about you and Sasuke, that woulda made her happier... hell, you could have forgotten to mention me entirely -- ack!"

Sakura's eyes were dangerously narrowed. "No."

"But it wouldn't bother me--"

"It would bother ME. Besides, knowing my mother's friends, she'd end up hearing about it anyway."

"What did your father say?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked guilty for a second. "... He wasn't there when it happened."

"You will talk to him privately?" Sasuke asked. He did not understand how one could fear one's mother, and go to one's father to play mediator, but not all families were like his had been. Maybe Sakura's father would be more accommodating than her mother had been.

"I'll write, I think. It's easier to find the words, and at least he won't interrupt me."

"He would?"

She shrugged. "No, but he'd make up his mind about three sentences in, and would spend the rest of my speech wiping off his glasses and waiting for me to finish."

He knew her well enough to notice that she was covering up a lot of fear and sadness under her annoyance. But he didn't know what to do about that new moral obligation to comfort her. He'd never been good at comforting. When Naruto was in a funk, he sneered at him until he got pissed enough to fight back, but that wouldn't work with Sakura. It would probably make her feel worse; she took him way too seriously. When she was depressed, she usually went to Ino -- who had probably done everything she could, but it apparently wasn't enough -- or her mother -- and her mother wasn't an option. Frowning, he looked at Naruto, who looked just as lost as he felt.

"For god's sake! Hug her or something!"

Ino was giving them both a disgusted look. Sasuke glared back. She was so --

"Nosey, I know. Listen -- sorry, forehead-girl, I gotta jet, I'm meeting Chouji and Shika at the dango stand," she said as she got on her feet, pretending to check her watch. "Now you two, I hope you're not as macho in private as you are in public -- though it could be funny in bed, I guess -- but just hug her or something. We'll talk this evening, Sakura-chan -- and YOU--" she pointed at Naruto threateningly -- "had better walk her back. See you!" And with that, she hurried out, grinning as if she was very pleased with her own cleverness and didn't care who believed her or not.

Sasuke was left blinking in her wake. Disgruntled, he looked over at Naruto, still gaping, and Sakura, who looked deeply embarrassed by her friend's unsubtle behavior.

"... so you're sleeping over at her place?" he asked, just because he didn't know what to say. "How long?"

"I don't know. As long as I'm not okay with mom, I guess," she replied quietly, looking down at her hands, fisted in her lap.

"Why don't you stay here?" Naruto asked, absently scratching dried flakes of paint off his fingers.

"Where would I put her, under the kitchen table?" Sasuke snapped back, uneasy with the subject. They were moving too fast, but he didn't know how to tell them that without hurting them.

"In your bed," Naruto replied matter-of-factly. "Not saying you should share," he added before Sasuke could start bristling, "the bed's way too narrow to be comfortable for two. But you could sleep on the couch, and I'd get the kitchen table."

Sakura winced. "Um. Naruto... That would be nice, but... if it got back to mom that I'm living with you two, she would take it... badly. Like I've made my choice, and don't care what she thinks anymore. You see?"

Naruto frowned, visibly disappointed, but nodded. "I guess, yeah..."

"Besides, this apartment is too small for the three of us -- and we still need to work out a way to share the bathroom, or I can predict a few wars over it," she added with a poor attempt at a smile.

"I can start looking at larger places this afternoon," Sasuke offered. "Even Naruto should be able to paint something without supervision."

She nibbled on her lip thoughtfully. "We should talk more about what we want first... And total up how much money we can spend. And... stuff."

It was a testament to how out of whack she was, that she would resort to "stuff" instead of giving them a precise list of what they would need to do and in which order. She was usually the one who made the plans and took care of the little details. A good thing that he wasn't prone to nervous fidgeting, because he would have fidgeted. Maybe, he tried to tell himself, she would feel better if she thought about the little things...

Or maybe she would feel better if she got a hug, like that blonde harpy had suggested. But -- fuck. What was he supposed to do, actually walk up to her and put his arms around her, just like that? It would be different if she came to him, but he could see that she wasn't going to. He glared at Naruto, silently urging the idiot to do something, anything.

"Uhm. About the bathroom, I think I'm gonna hop into the shower, get that stuff off. It's starting to itch something awful..." Naruto didn't wait for a reply, just gave them a sheepish little smile and disappeared behind the door.

... Traitor. Sasuke was going to smother him with his own pillow. He glanced at Sakura, feeling the awkward silence stretch between them, thick and heavy with things he only half-understood.

He watched her lift her glass to her lips, just to give herself a reason not to look at him, and in two steps, was standing by the couch. He sat down on the other side. There was still a respectable space between them -- Naruto could have squeezed his butt there and only nudged them a little -- but that was all he could do. He felt awkward and annoyed enough as it was.

She put her glass down, deliberately. The shower had started in the bathroom, but it didn't cover the little thwack of glass meeting wood.

He knew that their positions mirrored each other's, leaning forward, elbows on their thighs, fingers interlaced, eyes hidden under long bangs. But he didn't know what to say, what to do, any more than she apparently did. He wondered if they would always need Naruto to break the wall of dignity, social conventions and standoffishness between them. For a second, he almost regretted the way she had disregarded his unease with casual touch when they'd been younger, the way she had glomped onto his arm so easily. She respected his comfort zone scrupulously nowadays, when he would have needed her to push past it.

"...Are you having any trouble with... your health?" Argh, that was lame, and sounded awkward to boot, but he already knew about her emotional state. "You look ... a little pale." Lame, lame, lame. Stupid. Nosey too. Mother-hennish almost. The kind of observation he abhorred when directed at him... but that other people labeled "caring". She needed caring right now, and while he couldn't have done openly, honestly caring if his life depended on it, he could at least manage an underplayed approximation.

She looked surprised for a second, then smiled faintly. He relaxed a little. She was used to his understatements by now. "Oh. It's just the nerves, I think," she admitted quietly.

"Nothing else?" he asked, less hesitant already. She hadn't bitten off his head or looked hurt; it probably meant she didn't mind his questions.

"I felt a bit queasy during breakfast, but that's it. And it might be... well, just the nerves." She managed a guilty smile. Her fingers were knotted together in a white-knuckled tangle; it made him frown.

"Stop that," he admonished her, untangling her fingers firmly -- and only realizing that he had moved when he noticed that he was massaging her hands.

Well. She didn't seem to mind. Mildly disgruntled at himself, he kept going anyway, skillfully erasing all tension.

"... better?"

She nodded, not looking up, and leaned toward him. He tensed, then berated himself for tensing, and didn't even jump when her head landed on his shoulder.

His hand was caught between her back and the couch. It was uncomfortable. His excuses were as lame as Kakashi's worst ones, but that was his story and he was sticking to it. Besides, she hadn't asked why his arm was suddenly around her shoulders. It meant she didn't care. Or didn't mind. What the hell was Naruto doing under that shower anyway?

"How are your ribs?" she asked softly.

He shrugged, awkwardly because he didn't want to dislodge her head. "Fine." They were sore, and still hurt, and if he bent over too quickly or carelessly there was a good chance he'd break them, but he could ignore the ache and move around well enough.

"... oh."

"Healing fine," he amended, because he didn't like her subdued tone. "I'll be back to normal in a few days."

"... Okay."

She closed her eyes. Her lashes were dark red -- dark pink, more precisely. He'd never noticed before.

"They won't break so easily, you know," he commented gruffly, and pulled her a bit closer.

She relaxed, slowly, and he pretended not to notice the soft tug of her hand on his t-shirt. Silent, they listened to the noises Naruto made in the shower, huffing softly in amusement when he bumped into something and started to swear quietly. When he opened the door, his hair was still wet and his pants stuck to his skin, flushed pink by vigorous scrubbing. A few of his locks were still bluish.

"Back. Sorry..." He stared at them, falling silent, and Sasuke wondered what he was seeing. Wondered if Naruto felt like he was intruding. It made him want to pull back, for some reason.

"... I'm paint free now. Permission to hug, ma'am?" the blond asked, grinning innocently. It was a look that had never looked natural on him, but it was always amusing.

"If you want," she allowed, making an honest effort at smiling.

"Well, 'course I want," he commented, going over the arm of the couch to slide between Sakura and the cushions, incidentally pushing her closer against Sasuke. "Ino will kill me if I don't."

"And that's the only reason? I feel flattered," she replied with a pout.

"Okay, I was hoping I could get a grope or two out of it," he shot back, a wide, innocent, totally unbelievable grin on his face.

Sakura hit him over the head with a magazine.


	3. 3 - Sparring and Flirting (Naruto)

Well, the cuddling could have gone better -- they'd all been a little tense and there had been a few where-the-hell-should-I-put-my-hands moments -- but it had still been nice while it lasted.

Naruto could count the hugs he'd ever been involved in on one hand. Including the one where he'd been clinging to a dead, needle-full Sasuke. There had been a few flying tackles on Iruka and Jiraiya, but most of the time his teachers were in the habit of dodging. So, even despite the clumsiness, and the way Sakura kept fidgeting as if she wanted to reach out and grab but thought it was improper or something, and the way Sasuke never quite relaxed and kept avoiding their eyes, Naruto wasn't too keen on the letting go part.

They smelled nice, each in their own way. Sakura's skin was soft, and Sasuke's calluses scratched in a weirdly interesting way. Naruto caressed her hair, and teased Sasuke's cheek with a pink lock, making Sakura giggle and Sasuke roll his eyes in annoyed tolerance. Naruto smiled as her head rested on his shoulder, as her eyelashes fluttered against his collarbone, as Sasuke put his own chin on her shoulder, looking as bored and indifferent as he always did whenever he did something that mattered to him.

Sasuke -- the sneaky bastard -- escaped first, disappearing in the kitchen to cook lunch, and Naruto had Sakura for himself for about ten minutes -- his nose in her hair and her hand on his chest, arms wrapped around each other, sheer bliss -- before she decided to go and help. She did seem to feel a little better than she had earlier, so he let go, for all that he wanted to cuddle longer.

The meal itself was awkward all of two minutes, with shifty eyes and Sakura blushing whenever she looked at either of them, and then he and Sasuke started fighting again -- about the ownership of the saltcellar of all things -- and everything was back to normal.

Normal, as in before-The-Night standard behavior.

Naruto didn't protest the avoidance. He regaled Sakura with his adventures in Sasuke's barren kitchen the previous day, and laughed as she launched in return in a grand tale of her sparring session against Ino that morning -- a tie, as always with them two -- and both of them ignored Sasuke's bored looks and sarcastic comments with ease. Clearing the table went with lots of "where does this go?" and "ah, I was going to take that!" and a few "crap!" as a plate or a bottle slipped out of their grip. He wondered if he was the only one who noticed how similar the atmosphere was to the afternoon before that night -- though the tension behind the casualness was, sadly, nervousness and not desire.

When it was time to be a little more serious, he listened to them making plans, listing places and people to see, laws and regulations to check, income to calculate. He only kept them supplied in snacks, and made a few comments here and there, and discreetly brushed against them both, touching a waist here, a shoulder there, breath ghosting briefly against a bowed neck, all the while grinning like he had no clue he was doing anything out of the ordinary. If they were going to be stuck up about it, then he would have to get things moving on his own.

He held Sakura's hand when he walked her back to Ino's place, and then went home to Sasuke.

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Naruto rose to consciousness crouched on the windowsill. He didn't wonder where he was; he just admired the sight. The view he had on the sleeping Konoha wasn't one he was used to, but he liked it; it gave on a courtyard from which grew large trees, with footbridges suspended between them. That was one of the things he liked in his hometown, the dozens of passages from one building to another, from one street to another. Other towns were boring, all on the same level, trees pruned, contained behind wire fences. In Konoha, there were always layers upon layers, a veritable maze of stairs and catwalks and platforms, tunnels and arches that seemed to have grown more than they seemed to have been built. It reminded him of a man-made forest. It was a nice compromise.

Sasuke's building had good security, he observed absently, letting a claw-tipped finger brush against the wall under his perch. Though it could be done, it was hard to stick with chakra. Maybe Sasuke wouldn't bitch too much about leaving the window open. Naruto wanted to explore the courtyard, and the trees. But it would wake Sasuke up, and he didn't like leaving like that.

Though Sasuke hadn't woken up when they had prowled through the small apartment, trying to get used to the cramped space and the feeling of being an intruder.

The moon was shining on the tiles, in the leaves. He couldn't see her directly from here, and Kyuubi was restless. Sasuke would understand, and if he didn't, well...

Decision made, Naruto stopped thinking. Hand gripping the top of the window frame, a swing to the left -- catching the edge of the banister that ran along the left side of the building, and then climbing -- jump, roof, chimney -- handstand -- roof -- flying -- and a branch finally.

 _'Maybe we're a squirrel demon instead,'_ he thought, vaguely amused. Kyuubi snorted, and scaled the rough bark to settle in the highest fork able to bear his weight.

They couldn't run through Konoha tonight, not with a mate to protect. Bastard was still injured, his den unsecured; they couldn't stray too far. Other mate was staying with a family of vicious, underhanded fighters. They'd check on her quickly, later. For now, they watched the moon, and the way it shone over the roofs of their territory, soothed by the gentle swing of the tree and the faint rustling of its leaves and the caress of the midnight breeze.

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Yawning, Naruto sat on his heels in front of the Yamanaka flower shop and closed his eyes against the morning sun as he waited for his teammates.

He felt almost bad for letting Sasuke go in alone, but Ino was nowhere in sight; her father was manning the shop today and Naruto didn't feel like dealing with him. Most adult ninjas didn't like him much, and he was too sleepy to bother with any kind of hostility.

Stretching lazily, he leaned back against the wall. Maybe he could catch a quick nap; spending half the night prowling around Sasuke's building had left him borderline comatose and he didn't want to force himself awake just yet. Shikamaru had it right; laziness was of the good.

It didn't last long. He'd counted on Ino and Sakura needing about a half-hour of applying make-up and goodbye hugs and girly things -- maybe only fifteen minutes if Sasuke felt particularly pissy. He hadn't counted on Sakura stomping out, barely remembering to say goodbye to Yamanaka Inoichi, a mildly bewildered Sasuke trailing after her.

"Sakura-chan...?"

"He refused my letter. He REFUSED my letter. He said if I wasn't about to stop being a coward and come back home, he wasn't about to read my _apology_. MY WHAT?!"

"Your letter?" he repeated, blinking owlishly. Who -- oh. Her father. "You wrote to him?" he winced -- that was, after all exactly what she had just said.

She kicked the wall. Sasuke glanced at Naruto in askance; Naruto winced again. For once, Sasuke was asking him what to do, and Naruto didn't know any better than he did.

"Yes! And Ino went to give it to him and he wouldn't open it or even tell her anything but, 'please convince Sakura to come home', as if... ARGH!"

Naruto wanted to tell her that maybe his father just wanted to hear it from her because he believed it felt too impersonal otherwise, like she didn't care enough, but he wasn't even sure he agreed with that reasoning himself and she would have killed him. Besides, what did he know of what was acceptable with parents?

"I just -- I mean -- ARGH! It's just so. So. ARGH!"

"You said that already," Sasuke commented dryly, eyeing her critically.

Sakura whirled around, and for a second Naruto thought she was actually going to hit her precious Sasuke-kun over the head. Sasuke looked bewildered enough by her reaction to forget to dodge. Before either of them could say or do something they would regret, Naruto jumped on his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, babe, breathe. Okay?"

She snarled at him. "I don't want to breathe, I want -- I want--!"

"To beat on something until it breaks into tiny little pieces, which you can then stomp into the ground. Don't you?" he replied, before she could find her words.

"YES!"

She was fuming, her green eyes throwing murderous glares around. She pulled away from him, pacing, raking her hands in her hair carelessly. She was flushed, disheveled and absolutely furious, and he reminded himself that it was a very bad moment to kiss her.

He glanced at Sasuke, smiled at him in a I've-got-everything-under-control way -- the bastard had the gall to look wary -- and put his hands on his hips decisively. "Good. I've got exactly what you need."

She paused, and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Behind her, Sasuke was arching an eyebrow. Good; they were intrigued. He grinned confidently.

"Come on. Let's spar."

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_/Huh. Maybe your pink slut is not as ill-suited as I thought./_

Naruto was too tired to comment about the demon's vocabulary. He just groaned softly, leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees.

_'Glad she meets your approval. Now heal me up a little.'_

The fox was smirking, he could feel it. _/Weak. Beaten by his own female./_

_'Oi! She hasn't beaten me! I'm just letting her vent, that's all. Fuck, I didn't remember she could be so vicious.'_

Though the strength levels were nothing alike, it was, in fact, quite reminiscent of his fights against Sasuke, if only for the sheer aggressiveness. Of course, she didn't have a varied array of taijutsu skills, so she was confined to some pretty basic moves, but she used these basic moves with such fury ...

 _'If only she had more power, she'd be...'_ She'd be close to their level, Sasuke and him. But she wasn't, and would probably never be. Her chakra reserves were low; she had almost no strength and no stamina compared to the two of them. It wasn't really her fault. They were both freaks, each in his own way. For a normal, not-demon-possessed, not-from-a-bloodline-clan human, though, she really wasn't that horribly bad.

_'She'd be...'_

_/Fuckable./_

_'Yeah-- wait, no, that wasn't what I was going to say! I was going to say --'_

He was knocked on his ass and ended up staring dumbly up at Sasuke. The black-haired ninja was standing with his back to him, a hand wrapped around Sakura's fist.

"Dodge, dumbass. Or get out of the playground."

Sakura gritted her teeth, and pulled her fist free. Her knuckles were bruised. Naruto made a note to buy her gloves; maybe they'd help.

"Sasuke-kun, you're still hurt," she said through clenched jaws. She was trying to soften her expression, but it didn't really work. Naruto wondered if she'd ever given that sort of I-AM-trying-to-be-patient-here-so-god-help-me look to Sasuke before; the blond sure had gotten his share of them.

"Not enough for it to matter," Sasuke sneered back, and even unable to see his face, Naruto knew that the son of a bitch was smirking, with that smug, mocking, superior smile that never failed to make Naruto want to...

THWACK.

...yeah, just that. Naruto cringed, rolling away as they flew over his head, Sasuke thrown back and Sakura jumping after him. He watched them worriedly for a few seconds, as Sasuke twisted to land on his feet -- god, how did the crazy fucker keep from breaking his still healing ribs? -- even as Sakura pounced again. He didn't like the idea of them both sparring; Sasuke was a naturally vicious fighter who hated to lose -- what would happen if she managed to graze him and he instinctively counterattacked? And Sakura needed to beat on something, not to have the bastard run circles around her without letting her land a hit.

_/Feisty.../_

Naruto grimaced and pretended he wasn't blushing. The scenarios the bastard fox was sending over were quite explicit. Graphic, even. A bit too much -- Kyuubi's tastes ran to more blood than Naruto thought healthy, but he couldn't deny that there was something oddly compelling about ... gah. No, there wasn't. _'Cut it out, hornball. I thought it was bestiality to you.'_

_/Seventeen years of not getting any. Even that goddamn pipe-smoking toad of yours is starting to look good. Besides.../_

The image of a pink vixen was rather ridiculous, but there was something in the dainty, delicate paws, the slim and graceful body and the long, silky-soft, fluffy tail -- ack. He was so not thinking about a black, three-tailed fox either, with corded muscles rolling under tousled, midnight fur. He was NOT. _'Stop iiiiiiiit...'_

"LOOK OUT, IDIOT!"

Sakura rolled through the space on which he'd been standing just a second before, kicking up a cloud of dust on her way, and immediately jumped back up. She thwapped him over the head in passing, throwing herself back at Sasuke.

Naruto rubbed his head and scowled at her back for a second, then chuckled ruefully. For once, he was thinking too much. He made himself watch instead.

He was glad to see that she wasn't using as much anymore the straightforward, "let's bulldoze our way through the enemy's defenses" way which worked so well for Naruto himself but didn't do much for someone of her body weight and power, and was instead starting to feint and use a few swapping jutsu. He was also glad to see that Sasuke was, so far, managing to keep a balance, not so fast and strong that she couldn't connect at all, but not so slow that she felt like he was throwing it because she didn't deserve a real match.

Though, in all honesty... well. Watching Sasuke's effortless taijutsu was a lot like watching a dance -- he had perfect control, not only of his body, but of Sakura's as well. Even when he didn't manipulate her so that she would attack exactly the way he needed her to so he could counterattack, he always responded to her kicks and punches and lunges as if they had been working on the choreography for months. And he wasn't even using the Sharingan.

Bastard was pretty hot, Naruto admitted to himself as he watched him do a backflip as effortlessly as if obeying the laws of gravity was beneath him. He wasn't graceful in the way Sakura was, but he was flowing from attack to defense so flawlessly, and there wasn't one unnecessary move in his kata. It made Naruto wonder what it would take to make him jerk and twitch and struggle mindlessly.

He guessed he should feel more worried about the sad state of his heterosexuality as of late, but then, the thought of most every other guy still made him grimace. Sasuke was an exception -- both because he was almost as pretty as a girl anyway, and because he belonged to Naruto in the first place. Naruto wasn't sure what he'd do if Sasuke actually tried to top him in bed, though.

Sasuke still wasn't as hot as Sakura, the blond decided as he watched her flushed cheeks, furious eyes and heaving chest. She had unzipped her tunic slightly at some point. Mm, cleavage. It was a shame that she was so self-conscious about her breasts -- it was his guess that she'd been told she was too flat to be sexy many times by her girlfriends -- but maybe with the pregnancy... heavy breasts, belly full with a child that may be his...

Okay, maybe he should join them before he embarrassed himself by popping a boner.

"Yo."

"GYAH!"

Kakashi was leaning over his shoulder, watching Sasuke and Sakura. The man gave Naruto a glance and one of his weird eye-smiles -- Naruto had a theory that the rest of his face was actually perpetually frozen and thus all his facial expressions were eye-expressions only, but then he had lots of theories about Kakashi's face -- and went back to watching, nodding approvingly.

"Hm, I do think he's actually teaching her a few tricks. Amazing."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah. If I had known some shagging would..."

"Naruto, so long as your teamwork's improving, I don't actually want to know how you improve it."

Naruto's grin widened. "I know."

"... brat."

The blond chuckled, and waved at Sakura who was glancing back at them to see what he'd been yelling for. "If I wasn't, you'd be bored."

Kakashi rolled his eyes -- eye? -- but Naruto had a feeling he was amused. It felt good. For so long his teacher hadn't really paid close attention to him; any sign that Kakashi actually liked him, even a little, always made Naruto content, like an unexpected present. He didn't really need the man's approval anymore, not like he had needed it when he'd been twelve, and it actually helped, because it made him glad when he got it and he didn't bother feeling slighted when he didn't. Naruto had other people to love him unconditionally now. It was okay that Kakashi-sensei would never do what Iruka and Jiraiya had done, go from teacher to father figure. The blond guessed that Kakashi had his emotionally stunted hands full with Sasuke's emo self anyway.

They watched as the sparring bout relaxed into a teaching session. Sasuke guided Sakura's arms, her posture, showed her how and where to strike. He looked serious and concentrated -- as if he didn't notice he had his hands all over her. Sakura was starting to blush, which meant that she did, but she followed his instructions with the same concentration echoing on her features. Naruto wanted to tackle them both and kiss them breathless. But, yeah, Kakashi-sensei.

"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought we weren't supposed to meet before Monday."

Kakashi shrugged. "You always complain I'm late. You should be happy."

"... Did you take bullshitting classes or does it come naturally?" Naruto asked with a cheeky grin, before sobering up. "Seriously... is there a problem?"

Kakashi actually looked at him this time. "No, not really. I was just walking past."

Translation, I wanted to check on you all so I followed you out here. Naruto was fluent in strong-and-silent-ese by now.

"Sakura's staying with Ino," he commented. It sounded almost random if you didn't know he was answering a question Kakashi would never stoop so low as to ask. "And Sasuke's place is really cramped with the two of us. Maybe you'll be lucky and we'll kill each other before the end of the week."

Kakashi eye-grinned innocently. "Ah, don't say that as if I wouldn't miss you two." Before Naruto could formulate a sufficiently sarcastically disbelieving answer, the man had teleported to a pole close to where Sasuke was showing Sakura a particularly vicious heel-strike. Rolling his eyes and laughing at the same time, Naruto started jogging to join the little group.

"Say, Sasuke, have you ever thought of becoming a teacher?" Kakashi was drawling as Naruto reached them.

Sasuke's face was so funny, Naruto had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. It was a mix of "gnhuh?", "ick, no way in hell!" and "how am I going to get rid of him?" Even Sakura was grimacing at the thought.

Sakura was trying to cover up how badly she was panting, but Naruto had a close eye on her chest -- uh, on her, and he could tell that she wanted to sit down pretty badly. She was sweaty and streaked with dirt, and she looked tired enough to finally let go of her anger. Naruto wanted her to laugh a little, so he took the most sadistic-glee expression he could muster up, and tried to imitate Sasuke's clipped tones and hoped she didn't jump to the bastard's defense. "This would be the best job ever. I know so many places to hide the little pests' bodies."

He evaded a slap to the head from the bastard, laughing, then forced his face to freeze in another, forbidding Sasuke-expression. "Water-walking is the easiest thing on earth, even for morons like yourselves. If Masao can't manage it, he deserves to drown."

Sakura let out a giggle, that she muffled quickly with an apologetic look at Sasuke. Sasuke gave him a dark glare, and Naruto wisely jumped behind Kakashi who was pretending not to hear or see anything at all.

"Keiko, if you can't master enough subtlety to ogle my ass without my noticing, then I'm certainly not going to pass you on your stealth test."

Sakura was turning red with the effort she made not to laugh too loudly, and even Kakashi was looking suspiciously amused. Naruto gave himself a mental pat on the back.

Sasuke paused, gave him a narrow-eyed glare, and then he smirked. "We'll be learning how to throw kunai today. There's Naruto. Go for it."

Naruto snickered, and emerged from his hiding place. "I'm sure you would, too. Bastard."

Sakura sat down heavily, hands wrapped around her waist as she laughed hard enough to make tears gather on her eyelashes. "Oh, god. The -- the poor children -- the trauma -- worse than Kakashi-sensei--"

"Oi," their teacher shot back, pretending to feel hurt.

Sakura was laughing so hard, it worried Naruto a little. It hadn't been that funny. He went to her and sat on his heels at her side, touching her shoulder gently. She crumpled against his shoulder, still giggling herself breathless.

"Sorry... sorry... I'm just tired, that's all... But -- god, Sasuke-kun with students!"

He patted her back gently, grinning. "Hell yeah. Sasuke in charge of kids? I'm terrified just to think of it."

He realized what he'd just said when Sasuke turned away, back stiff, and moved to leave.

Letting him leave would be a bad, bad idea -- when Sasuke was allowed to sulk, he tended to pick at whatever had hurt him until the sting changed into a festering wound. Naruto lunged, snagging his waistband, and pulled him back sharply.

Sasuke landed on his lap, and immediately twisted free, a knee in the dirt, between Naruto and Sakura. He was about to jump on his feet, eyes blazing, when Sakura touched his arm, giving him a pleading look. He paused just long enough for Naruto to sling an arm around his shoulders and give him a quick, awkward -- and still manly -- hug.

"Hey, don't sulk. We didn't mean it like that. You know we love you."

He'd meant to say that casually, as a joke almost, but somehow seeing the way Sakura's cheeks pinked and Sasuke stilled so totally, to them it had probably sounded a lot more... declaration-y. He almost started gibbering that he hadn't meant it like that, and then -- watching Sakura's head bowed in a mix between a nod and an attempt to hide behind her hair, and Sasuke's mildly stunned look -- decided that he did mean it, even if he hadn't planned to actually say it out loud right then, especially not with Kakashi so close.

He wasn't going to take it back. But he wasn't going to let the situation slide into shy-and-stuttering romance, so he grinned and let Sasuke go.

Kakashi was still perched on his pole, his back to them as he observed a flight of birds with rapt attention. "Fascinating, these little balls of feathers. I'm pretty sure the flight of this one just drew the kanji for shoe. I wonder what it's trying to tell us."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he straightened up, which relaxed Naruto enough to let him snort at his teacher's weirdness. "Our next mission will involve a lost slipper, probably," the blond chirped very seriously.

"Or someone will throw a boot at your head," Sakura replied, managing a reasonable facsimile of a teasing smile.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance, arms crossed. "Or I'll kick both your asses for being stupid. Sakura, can you still train, or do you want to stop for today?"

She fidgeted, wilting under Sasuke's abrupt tone. "Well... It's around noon, so maybe we should eat first and -- I mean, if it's not a problem, this afternoon...?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Fine." He still sounded miffed, though, and didn't wait for them as he stalked off toward the village. Sakura gave his retreating back a miserable look.

Naruto threw a rock at him, that the bastard dodged without even looking back, then pulled Sakura on her feet. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, d'you want--"

"It's about time for my meeting with Hokage-sama," the man replied cheerfully.

"About time -- do you mean that you had to be there at ten?"

"Nine. See you Monday." And with that, Kakashi teleported away.

Naruto rolled his eyes, wondering why he had bothered to ask. Kakashi never socialized with them. Maybe he was afraid to let them grow too close, or maybe they just tired him out enough during missions. Or maybe he was being thoughtful by refusing to intrude -- nah.

Sasuke wasn't openly waiting for them, but he walked so slowly he might as well have been.

"Hey, you think he'll ever stop wanting to save face so obsessively?" Naruto whispered at Sakura.

She was a bit quiet; he wasn't sure why. Maybe she was just tired...

"He wouldn't be Sasuke if he didn't," she replied, and smiled, but Naruto caught the worried glance at Sasuke's back and frowned.

"Whassamatter, Sakura-chan? He's not still angry about the teacher thing, he's just pretending to."

"I know, it's just --" She bit her lip, and looked at her feet. "He called me stupid. He never calls me stupid usually."

Naruto blinked. She must be really worn out if she was so oversensitive. "He calls me stupid all the time. I'm pretty sure it's Sasuke-ese for 'sexy, adorable person that I'd love to boink.' I mean, honestly, half the time when he says that, he ends up tackling me."

Sakura made a little sound halfway between choking and snickering. Naruto grinned and continued.

"And when he says 'shut up', what he really means is 'I want to silence you _with my tongue_ '."

"Oh, a little bit like 'that was childish' means 'I've never seen anything so hilarious in my life'?" she replied tentatively, smiling at him -- and her smile was sincere and it was all for him, and he wanted to kiss her pretty badly, but he hesitated and the moment passed.

"Well, it's more something like, 'gosh, Naruto, I wish I'd thought of that myself; you're a true genius!' but yeah, you're getting the hang of it."

Catching the end of their conversation, Sasuke looked at them over his shoulder, arching a sarcastic eyebrow. "You, a genius? You're the king of all things stupid."

He turned away again, and Naruto winced comically for Sakura. It had been fun, but Sasuke hated to be teased and hated it even more when it was behind his back. But at least Sakura-chan hadn't hit him for badmouthing the bastard -- he'd made her laugh!-- so Naruto was very glad.

He was about to reach Sasuke when Sakura nudged him, a weird glint in her eyes, and mouthed silently at him, "I think he just asked you to marry him."

A flock of birds took off, scared away by Naruto's howls of laughter.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yo, Iruka-sensei!"

Naruto slipped in his usual seat at Ichiraku's, grinning. He had washed up quickly after the afternoon's three-way sparring session, and his hair was still dripping water over his shirt. He didn't like being late to their weekly meetings, though. It would dry on its own.

"Hello, Naruto. Did you lose track of the time again?" Iruka asked, giving his hair an amused glance.

The old cook put a bowl down in front of him, not bothering to ask what he wanted since he always asked for the same, and Naruto gave him a grateful grin before starting to dig in. "Ehh, yeah, a little. We were sparring, with Sasuke and Sakura-chan."

Iruka blinked. "I wasn't aware that you sparred with Sakura-kun. She was a bright student, but not really in your league..."

"Well, usually I don't, but she needed it pretty bad. She was pissed. Besides, I think she's starting to really not like needing to be saved. Been a while since we fought anyone that strong, but -- eh." He knew it would happen anyway; he and Sasuke were freak magnets and she would get pulled along for a ride whether they wanted it or not.

"Yes, trouble does tend to find you, doesn't it?"

Naruto gave Iruka a suspicious look. "What does that mean?"

The man gave him an innocent look that seemed way too natural on his face. Naruto had known Iruka long enough to realize that appearing clueless and harmless was the best ninja technique in his old teacher's repertoire. "Merely that trouble tends to find you. What did you think I mean?"

"... right. Anyway -- how are you?"

They started chatting about Iruka's students, especially about a few of them that seemed to want to compete with Naruto for the title of most aggravating student ever, and that quickly slipped into reminiscing about the good old days. It was always amusing to Naruto ; he was seventeen and he talked of himself at eleven as if it had been decades ago. But he truly had changed in that time, and Iruka had been with him every step of the way.

And now Naruto was taking another step, and he hoped -- well he was pretty sure, but he was still a bit nervous -- that Iruka would stay by his side anyway.

"Say, Iruka-sensei... did you learn anything else about the incident the other day?"

The man blinked slowly, and shook his head, his expression turning more serious. "Not really. You look fine, you and your team, and I don't have the clearance to demand more information. Being in the right place at the right time to catch a few snippets of conversation is one thing, but actively trying to pry into an operation of that size... Well."

Naruto toyed with his chopsticks for a few seconds as he was reminded that despite the large number of people involved in the latest Kyuubi scare, only a handful of them had been briefed about the details. "... Wanna know?"

"If you want to tell me." The reply was cautious, tinged as always with a hint of worry.

"We should go somewhere else." Naruto finished his fourth bowl of ramen and put it down on the counter, paying the old ramen guy before Iruka could protest that he was buying. He then pulled his ex-teacher off his stool and down the street, guiding him to one of the training grounds behind the academy. It was deserted this day of the week, especially at this hour.

Iruka listened with a worried frown on his face as Naruto summarized everything that had happened -- well not everything everything, because his head would probably explode if Naruto gave too many details about the night itself -- but everything about the Kyuubi-induced sex session and the child and the sharing.

"Okay. So you are having a child. Together. And Kyuubi no Youko is involved. And the Council is watching you. God, you really know how to make your life interesting."

"Hehe. Guess so," Naruto replied, grinning.

"In Snow country, they believe that 'may your life be interesting' is one of the most powerful curses ever thought up," Iruka snarked back.

"...Oi."

Iruka took a deep breath, then nodded, more to himself than to Naruto.

"Okay. You're... You talked about this? The three of you -- you thought about it? You're committed to the idea?"

Naruto sobered up, and nodded. "Yeah. We talked. We really want to make this work."

"It's important for you, isn't it?" Iruka asked, voice softening.

"Yes... it is. They are."

Iruka still seemed faintly worried, but he smiled anyway. "Then... if you need my help, I'll be here."

Naruto grinned, relieved, and grateful that his ex-teacher hadn't bothered to lecture him about how difficult and complicated the whole situation could get.

"So. Er."

"You can ask questions, you know," Naruto offered. "I won't get angry. I mean -- you have the right to know. Anything."

"Anything?" his ex-teacher replied, arching an eyebrow. He looked surprised and embarrassed and touched and amused, all at once, and Naruto wondered how complex his brain had to be to handle so many different feelings at the same time. It was always amusing to try to figure out which side was going to take over, though.

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, anything, 'cause I'm pretty sure you'll die before you ask anything about my sex life and it's the only thing Sakura and Sasuke would have a problem with me babbling out."

Iruka grumbled. "I should ask, just to show you how stupid it is to promise so much."

Naruto snickered. "Do you want to start with Sasuke's kinks or Sakura's interesting beauty spots?"

"MOVING ON. There's one thing I've been thinking about... It's -- well, Kyuubi no Youko is male, right?"

"Iruka-sensei, you filthy pervert!" Naruto gasped out between two giggles.

Okay, he had deserved that bonk over the head. But it was a small price to pay to see Iruka torn between embarrassment, anger and mad laughter.

"So, is he?" Iruka asked when he managed to regain his composure, crossing his arms sternly and pretending he wasn't still trying to keep the corners of his mouth down.

The use of the teacher-voice prompted Naruto to actually think about it. "Well, uh. Yeah. I always assumed he was, anyway. I mean he definitely knows what to do with my -- I mean. Yeah."

"So then how did he get into heat!" Iruka retorted, and started pacing in frustration. "Females are supposed to go into heat, not males -- it's not different for foxes, I know that -- okay, male deer and hares go into rut, but canines only react to females' heat, and maybe it's different for kitsune but I don't see why it would, the biological imperatives are probably the same -- damn these idiots who thought burning all the information available on kitsune might negate everything the Kyuubi ever did... Anyway how would he come into actual mating drive? Most predatory mammalian males don't go through any sort of reproductive cycle..."

"Uh." Naruto stared at his teacher, bemused. THAT was his all-important question? "I dunno. Maybe he was just getting blue balls or something."

Iruka gave him a frustrated look. "But that's --"

"Look, I'm not waking him up just so I can ask him if his balls always existed only in his imagination. You're just gonna have to live with the mystery."

"But don't you even care?" Iruka asked. Naruto wondered how his ex-teacher could have forgotten how little like a scholar he was.

Naruto shrugged. "Biologically possible or not, I know what happened. Wanted it bad, managed to make them want it too. Lots of kinky sex. Baby. None of that's going to change if it happened 'cause kitsune are weirdly fucked up like that or if it happened 'cause Kyuubi's actually a transsexual. So no, I don't really care."

Iruka rolled his eyes and sighed with exasperated fondness. "Right. Well, that's certainly a very practical attitude. But if you understood how he works better..."

Naruto sighed. They were going into territory he didn't like to think about, much less worry other people with. "... Iruka-sensei, when I think about him or at him too much, I tend to spend the next nights running around on all fours and hunting stray dogs. If it's not very important, I'm not going to bother. And if it turns out to be important -- well, I have you and Sakura-chan to do the research for me, right?" he added, grinning impudently.

Iruka sighed again, then nodded. "I wish you weren't so lazy, though. You're best suited to know what to look for and where, after all."

"But I'm not smart enough to do anything with the inside tips, so... Heh. Anyway I expect Sakura-chan will grill me about lots of stuff. She's kinda concerned about what it might do to the kid."

"Hm, yes," Iruka agreed. "And what about her? Will it have any effect on her?"

"Uh. Dunno."

But that, contrary to the state of Kyuubi's manhood, was definitely something he should find out. Because having abnormal chakra from birth was different from having it shoved at you when you were already almost an adult, and maybe ... well, he definitely should find out. They already knew it was doing strange things to her chakra coils, and she wasn't going to be happy for the next nine months, but he didn't know if anything more... permanent could happen. There was a difference between being nauseous for a few months, and being crippled for life -- or made sterile -- or even die -- because the child had claws in the womb, or the chakra drain was just so severe it never let her heal. And seeing as her being at risk was definitely his fault, yes, he definitely had to find a way to fix it.

Iruka had to slap Naruto over the head before he remembered where he was. Grinning sheepishly, he made a note to himself to figure it out as soon as he was home, and brought up what he knew was a sure fire way to change the conversation.

The sad state of the Hokage's sex life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end was not that funny, but then I was reaching the end of my rope there. That chapter refused to end properly. Argh.  
> More notes (copied from the teamwork drabbles) : I'm almost positive Iruka calls Sakura "Sakura-kun" in canon. As far as I know, that's not because he thinks she's a guy; that's because he acknowledges that she's young and way under him in hierarchy (this not a -san yet), but still not intimately close, like family or lovers would be. Yes, it IS a real use of -kun, though not as frequent by far. It shows respect to her anyway, but not as it would to an equal. So it wouldn't be out of place for a student/teacher relationship. That was today's lesson in fangirl Japanese. Yay. XD


	4. 4 - Long Day (Sakura)

Sakura started the day like she had started the previous one, and the one before that : kneeling on the bathroom floor as she emptied her stomach. The tiles were hard and cold under her bare knees, and the large t-shirt she was using as a nightdress was too thin to help much.

Behind her, Ino was wincing, as much in sympathy as in disgust. She stepped closer, combing her own messy locks sleepily. "Are you done?"

Sakura dry-heaved a last time and then sat back on the floor, blearily looking up. "Now, yes," she grunted as she accepted the glass of water Ino held out. She rinsed her mouth and spat inelegantly in the toilet, grimacing.

"How long has it been?"

"... One week."

"... Well. Crap. It's already that bad? You should go to a doctor, you're not going to ride this out."

Sakura winced. "Yes, well, it's kind of linked to that problem with Naruto having kids that I can't explain, so if I want anything for it, I'll have to go to the Hokage..."

Ino scowled. "I see. Well, you better get an appointment as fast as possible, the way it's going..."

"I know," Sakura sighed, and opened the faucet to wash her face. She sighed again, then, catching sight of Ino in the mirror, snickered weakly. "Your hair looks like a windblown straw pile."

"Yours looks like cotton candy that has exploded all over a bird's nest."

"Yeah, well, you have big ugly shadows under your eyes!" she shot back with a bit more strength, fighting Ino for the hairbrush.

"And you're still yucky and green ! Did anyone tell you it was a good idea to match with your eye color? Because they lied!"

"Better than being the color of a pig butt!"

Snarking at each other playfully, they went through their morning routine, until Ino's mother interrupted them by knocking at the bathroom door and yelling at them to keep it down.

The first time Ino's mom had yelled at them, years ago, Sakura had frozen, and then exploded in embarrassed apologies. Nowadays, she was familiar enough with the Yamanakas to throw in a quick "sorry!" before Ino started yelling back. She knew the difference between angry yelling and yelling just for the hell of it, which they did a lot of. So long as no weapons showed up, it was harmless. It still seemed weird to her, but it was part of who Ino was.

She almost never invited Ino home overnight, though, because while Ino never yelled like that with anyone else, and Sakura's own parents never said anything, she had a feeling they found her best friend somewhat badly raised.

"Yeah, yeah," Ino finally capitulated when she was done brushing her teeth, and shoved Sakura out of the bathroom with her hip. "Hold your horses, your majesty. Here's your bathroom."

Sakura gave the graying woman a sheepish wince/smile along with a little greeting wave as Ino pushed her down the corridor and into her bedroom.

"So," the blonde said as she disappeared in her walk-in closet. "I need to be at the shop at noon. Dad's leaving for a mission this afternoon, and mom just got back from hers, so she needs downtime. You want to go see the Hokage this morning?"

Sakura hesitated. She didn't feel that sick, really -- she could endure it... But what would it bring to be masochistic about it?

"Okay, fine." No need to wait too long. Tsunade-sama had told her to come back whenever she needed it, and while she could endure the morning sickness a little while longer, she wasn't going to spit on an occasion to get rid of it either, as much like whining as it seemed to her.

She found the last of her fresh clothes -- maybe Sasuke would let her wash her clothes at his place; she hadn't brought enough to last her much longer and she didn't feel right invading the Yamanakas so much -- then followed Ino to the kitchen.

Inoichi had left a few hours earlier, and his wife would be in the bathroom for an hour at least, so there was no chance to cross either of them. Sakura sat down heavily and slumped gracelessly on the tabletop. She always made an effort to appear extra-polite around the Yamanakas, because after all they were housing her and feeding her, against her parents' wishes, and that was very generous of them, but right now all she wanted was to be comatose a little while longer. She still felt queasy and off-kilter; from what had happened the days before, it would be at least a half-hour before that went away.

"Cocoa?" Ino asked brightly as she puttered around the kitchen.

"Urgh, no. I'd throw up again."

"Or maybe some nice greasy eggs and --"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be wearing them, Ino-pig," Sakura growled, resting her chin on her crossed arms.

The blonde laughed, and put a piece of toast on the table in front of her. "Here, eat that."

Sakura nibbled on the toast cautiously. It didn't make her want to throw up, so she ate more.

"Plans for the day?" Ino asked as she sat in front of Sakura.

"Well, Hokage-sama first, then... it depends how long it takes, but I was thinking, tomorrow we go back to missions, so I really should see my father today," she explained unenthusiastically.

Ino winced. "Guess so. Dangerous missions?"

"I don't know yet, but probably not. After the... incident, they're not going to give us anything exciting for a while." And while she didn't truly mind C-rank missions, with moderate danger and action, D-rank were boring and tedious most of the time. B and above... well, she didn't especially like them, but Naruto and Sasuke thrived on them. They'd probably be even more peeved than her. So long as she could convince herself that she was useful, she could endure almost anything, but they got bored when they didn't have anything to beat up, and when they got bored, they usually started to fight each other.

"Assuming you're in Konoha, you'll still be coming back here to sleep?"

"If we're in Konoha, then yes," she replied with a sheepish smile, "unless it bothers your parents..."

"Dad won't be here, and mom won't notice. She'll be locked in all afternoon. You have a key, right?"

Sakura nodded, feeling the key in her pocket. She could have disabled the locks on her own; as a friend of Ino's she had seen their anti-intruders traps more than once... but the key meant something a lot more special.

"Unless you prefer to spend the night with your men..." Ino added, leering.

Ino knew that she couldn't, she just wanted to tease her. Bah! Sakura wasn't about to blush and squirm. "Heck no," Sakura replied, grinning, and only blushing a little. "Naruto drools and Sasuke steals the blankets."

"I see. So they're only nice to ... sleep with," the blonde replied, nodding and only smirking a tiny bit. "Say, you still haven't told me how they are in bed..."

"And I'm not going to."

"Okay, then."

Sakura blinked. Ino was capitulating already? Huh.

"I'll ask Naruto. I'm sure he'll tell me everything I want to know."

"Hey!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino walked with her to the administrative building, but then had to return to the shop; her father's shift would be ending soon. Sakura assured her that she would be fine. It was just a check-up. The most horrifying news had been delivered already; she didn't see what else could happen.

She stepped inside, and looked around for someone to direct her. She was stepping toward a chuunin guard when she heard hurried steps behind her.

"Ahh! Get out of the way!"

Someone bumped into her. Surprised, Sakura turned just in time to grab a half-dozen of books as they fell from the pile in the Hokage's assistant's arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"Hello, Shizune-sensei," Sakura smiled.

The brunette blinked, then gave her a faint sheepish smile and moved the pile of books to her hip to rest her arm. "Ah, Sakura-kun. Hello. Are you here to see the Hokage?"

"Well, yes. She said to come whenever I needed it, but --"

Shizune smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, if it's about you know what, she'll mind it a lot more if you don't come. I'm sorry again..."

"It's fine, really," Sakura assured her sincerely.

Sakura rather liked Shizune. The young woman seemed shy and unassertive at first glance, but it was offset by a fierce loyalty to the Hokage and more than a handful of vicious tricks that made Sakura wish she had started studying under her earlier ; Shizune had ways to use plants and senbon and all other sorts of apparently inoffensive things that would have made most of Sakura's chakra-laden enemies run in fear. It was her example that made Sakura hope that even if she never got to be overwhelmingly strong or powerful, one day, she would be tricky enough and savvy enough in the human body, healing techniques and poisons that she could finally do her fair share of the fighting in their team. After all, for a healer to heal well, they had to know exactly how and where the trauma was applied.

The apprenticeship under Shizune had taught her a lot, even though she wished she hadn't had to share her attention with three other students, and wished even more that Shizune hadn't had to stop a few months ago because it was interfering with her duties to the Hokage. Sakura was now on work placement at the hospital between missions, but it wasn't the same.

"Come along, then; I was going to her office anyway."

Sakura took a few more books off the pile and followed her.

The Hokage was crushing leaves and a few berries Sakura couldn't name in a thick paste when Shizune nudged the door open with her foot. Sakura was mildly surprised -- she'd assumed that the Hokage would be neck-deep into treatises and scrolls, not busy doing medical stuff. But then, she supposed, Tsunade-sama had been a med-nin long before getting her current responsibilities.

"Hokage-sama, hello..." she greeted politely, nodding as she followed Shizune in, closing the door behind her with her heel.

"Ah, it's you." Tsunade gave Sakura a sharp look, and Sakura refrained from wincing as she went to pile the books where Shizune had put her own stack. She hadn't done anything wrong, but the Hokage was still a formidable woman, and she didn't look very happy today, if one judged by her semi-permanent frown. "A problem?"

Were Hokage-sama's eyes bloodshot? And her voice definitely sounded rough, thick with fatigue. Maybe she had stayed up all night on important things. /So stop dithering and tell her why you're here, for fuck's sake! If you antagonize her with small talk, she'll probably bitchslap you into a wall or something./

Sakura didn't think she actually would, but earning her displeasure was still something she didn't wish to do. "It's the morning sickness. It's pretty bad."

"... Ah."

"I mean, it's only been a week since the conception," and it shouldn't have happened before the second week at the very least, more probably during the fourth -- she had studied the symptoms during her apprenticeship and reviewed them at Ino's, just to be sure she didn't forget anything, "but I've been sick three mornings in a row now."

Tsunade frowned as she finished crushing her concoction and gave the bowl to Shizune. "That's not normal," she commented as she got on her feet. Then, probably seeing Sakura's expression, she amended. "But then you probably won't see a lot of normal with this one."

Weirdly, it didn't really help. Sakura followed the older woman to a partitioned side of the office, trying not to grimace at the reminder. She told herself that her feeling of queasiness was coming from the smell of the herbs Shizune was crushing, but she didn't really believe herself.

"Step in the circle," Tsunade ordered as she pointed at a seal mark on the floor. Sakura recognized a few key symbols -- that was a diagnosis pattern, apparently, but more complex than the simple ones Shizune had taught her.

At first, she didn't say anything, just let the Hokage examine whatever it was she saw from the outside of the circle. But the gritting of teeth and the annoyed frowns ended up getting to her composure. She didn't say anything, but her stress must have been blindingly obvious through the jutsu. Tsunade looked up at her, meeting her eyes, and stared at her for the longest seconds of Sakura's life. It was as if she was trying to read her brain.

"You can take some brutal honesty, don't you?"

Sakura looked back at her, eyes widening faintly. Oh god. "... I can," she blurted out before she could think better of it.

"The way things are going, my best guess is that you're going to die of chakra exhaustion before the end of the fourth month."

Sakura just stared at her, not sure that she'd heard her right.

Tsunade sighed softly, eyes closed, then gave her a long, serious look. Sakura swallowed nervously.

"It's draining you just a little bit faster than you can reconstitute. It's not really a problem for now -- you'll just feel a little tired in the evening -- but unless one of two things happen, it's going to build up."

"Two things?" she asked, latching onto that. It wasn't hopeless -- the Hokage wouldn't let it become hopeless. She wouldn't be as brutal if there wasn't a way.

"One, we hope that the drain will slow down on its own after the first month."

Sakura grimaced. Tsunade-sama looked grim enough that she didn't need to ask how likely the Fifth thought it was, or how much they should count on that.

"Two, you train and train like crazy and hope this will be enough. I'm talking three hours of meditation a day, at least two hours of jogging, and two or three of physical fitness, hand-to-hand, water walking -- and practice your jutsus."

"Train?" That's all? she almost added. But this kind of training was going to be brutal on her. She just didn't progress all that fast.

"Train. Train a lot. Shizune told me that you have quality, but not quantity. Sadly," the older woman snapped in a stern voice, "quality won't help you here. All you need is to stuff chakra into the brat -- or better, let it stuff itself. I know you don't have a huge potential, but you're going to need to bring out every last drop of it."

Sakura looked down at her feet, at the medical pattern sprawling all around her. She'd thought that the symbols were kind of pretty. Now she could only see black lines sprawling like a net, swimming alarmingly. She blinked away the wetness. It wasn't hopeless. She couldn't start on the self-pity -- especially not here, not in front of the Hokage, the strongest person in the village.

"... I will." She lifted her chin, nodding, pretending that she didn't want to tremble. "I'll train."

Tsunade watched her, then her expression tinged with compassion. "... If that's not enough, we will still have a few recourses. I'm afraid they won't be pleasant -- being hospitalized for several months rarely is. We will need volunteers to drain chakra from, too, but this kind of transfer -- it can be done. I've done it. But it's going to require you stay flat on your back for the rest of your pregnancy, no exceptions."

Sakura winced, but relaxed a little. She'd give it her best, but it was a great relief to know that there would still be another solution to try out if it wasn't enough.

Tsunade sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, then waved her hand dismissively. "I'll have a training regimen written for you in the next few days. Kakashi will give it to you. And eat more red meat -- at least four times a week, everyday if you can. Come see me in two weeks -- unless there's a problem. Now shoo."

Still scared and confused, she stepped out of the seal quickly, bowed swiftly and hurried out, barely remembering to nod a goodbye at Shizune on her way.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura gave herself a half-hour, sitting in a public garden, to freak out over the news, then tried to put Tsunade's warnings out of her mind for the moment. She wasn't going to keel over if she didn't try training right this moment, and besides there were other things to worry about more urgently.   
She reached the building where her father worked as an accountant, and asked for him, hoping that, as always during stressing times, he was working overtime -- it was a Sunday, but that never stopped him -- and that he hadn't taken his lunch break yet. To her surprise the secretary had been warned to expect her and two minutes later she could hear her father limping down the stairs, the muffled thump of his cane echoing his steps. He still moved fairly quietly for a civilian, even with his old war injury stiffening his leg, but he hadn't been quiet enough to surprise Sakura for years now.

"Hi, dad," she greeted him with an uneasy smile. Haruno Yukihiro wasn't smiling. She thought that he looked stern, worried and reproving at once -- but then he was always hard to read. Maybe he was just worried. Or maybe just reproving.

"Sakura. I was about to get some breakfast. Come along."

His voice didn't tell her anything, nor did his attitude. She followed, composing her expression to appear appropriately serious yet confident. She didn't want to look like she could be influenced into dumping Naruto. She didn't have a clue how to approach her father, though. They didn't have the closeness that she shared with her mother.

They only exchanged a few polite words as they chose a restaurant, as he asked if she had eaten, as she asked when he needed to go back to work. Apparently he'd guessed that she would come find him today, because he'd already cleared his calendar. Well, it was convenient. And made her nervous as hell.

They sat face to face, waiting for the waiter to come back, hiding behind their menus. Sakura let the things she wanted to say build up as they tried to organize themselves into coherence, until she knew what she would say first. But she still waited, for their orders to be taken, for them to be alone again, until the silence was so heavy that they slipped out on their own.

"It was an accident, but it wasn't a mistake. I am not sorry, and I will only apologize for the way I handled the situation with you and mom."

She would have said more, but his lack of reaction was making her feel more confrontational and she didn't want a fight. She fell silent, waiting for his reply.

"... Tell me what happened first."

She couldn't help but shoot back, "I'm sure you heard everything already."

"I heard her side of the story. I want yours."

It was starting to get annoying to tell it again and again, especially since she had to tailor it to each of her audiences. But he seemed more open to dialogue now than he'd seemed when he'd sent back her unopened letter. Maybe the length of time she had gone without coming back had convinced him that it wasn't a simple tantrum.

"I was out with my team. We drank -- probably more than we should have. Kyuubi..." She paused. Her father had twitched. He recomposed himself quickly, but his jaws were slightly clenched. "Kyuubi was, apparently, in heat. Or something similar."

Yukihiro's eyebrow twitched again. She decided to attack the core of the problem directly.

"The ... pregnancy was confirmed in the following day, and is closely monitored by the Hokage. There is no way the Kyuubi can leave his host and possess the baby, and as Naruto himself is no less human than any of the advanced bloodlines, the child shouldn't have any genes that neither Naruto nor I possess."

"But you can't be sure."

"...No, I can't. But no expecting mother can be a hundred percent sure that her child will be born normal. There's always a risk."

There was still a forced lack of expression on his face as he replied. "There is a difference between having a deaf or malformed child, and having a demon."

"If I bear a demon, I will be the first to put it down. And if they notice when it's still in my womb, I will give myself over to the ANBU so they can terminate us both."

Finally, her father reacted openly, staring in horror. "Surely there is no need to go that far..."

"It's binding itself to my chakra pathways. If I abort, I'll die."

Even the waiter putting plates down in front of them couldn't manage to stop them staring bleakly at each other. Finally, he took off his glasses and looked down, starting to clean them insistently.

"... And when it's born?"

Sakura blinked. She hadn't thought that far yet. "We'll deal with it when it happens. I have faith that the Hokage will not let anything happen to me if she can help it."

"If."

"If."

There was another silence, during which Sakura politely started poking at her food so as not to stare at her father's face as he digested the information.

"That's... Rather. Serious. Rather..."

"It sounds awful, doesn't it," she replied to what he'd meant rather than what he'd said. "But it's not all horrible. There's a good chance that the baby will be as normal as they come, all cute and pink and bawling at ungodly hours of the morning. Maybe it will have mom's eyes and your nose and Naruto's smile, and then it will be the most perfect baby of the world," she added with a brave smile, blinking away the moisture in her eyes when her father conjured up a rather shaken smile.

And then she took a deep breath and continued. "... and maybe it will have your nose and mom's eyes and Sasuke's hair, and it will still be just as perfect. But probably prettier, all things considered."

She didn't look up. She couldn't. she was scared to death of what she would see.

"... Sasuke's...?" he finally asked, carefully, as if he wasn't sure he'd heard well.

"Uchiha Sasuke. My other teammate," she confirmed, as she finished tearing her napkin into shreds. "He -- they were both there. I don't know which one... Well. That's... something I didn't tell mom yet. I wanted her to accept that it's probably Naruto's child first, you see, or else she would pin all her hopes onto it being Sasuke's, and I don't want my child to be loved or hated because of its father. It's my child and I don't care to which of them it belongs, I just don't, and I don't care either --"

"Sakura. Don't shout."

The gentle admonition was enough to stop her babbling before she panicked totally and she downed her glass of water to calm her nerves, eyes closed.

"I wasn't involved with either of them. I haven't actively chased Sasuke in years and I'm sure Naruto never thought his flirting would ever lead him anywhere. I do have strong feelings for them both, but up until last week, they weren't..." She stopped there, unable to push the detachment far enough to actually use the word "sex" with her father.

"I... understand. It wasn't an easy situation, but -- Kyuubi no Youko, the alcohol -- you didn't choose to be placed in it. I won't judge you for... not knowing."

He still sounded shaken, but not doubtful at least. She was so relieved that she could have cried. She took a stuttering breath and nodded, relaxing marginally.

"But... will you judge me for choosing to stay in it?"

"Pardon?"

"We've decided -- the three of us, that -- we're a team. We'll deal with it as a team. We won't let it pull us apart. We got into it together, and they're not going to abandon me."

The silence seemed a lot heavier suddenly. Her father's glasses had never been cleaner.

"Ah. Honorable sentiment. Concretely, what does this mean?"

She fidgeted, twisting the shreds of her napkin together. "We're going to live together. The three of us. Sasuke offered to marry me, so I don't pass for a whore. And if it's his, I will be the matriarch of the reborn Uchiha clan. Not so bad, eh?" she added with a grin that she couldn't make look anything but pained.

"If it isn't?"

"Then my second child will be his," she declared as if it was obvious, as if she hadn't just decided that it would happen this way two seconds ago. "... We might wait a bit for that one, though."

"The abnormalities in your pregnancy point to... Naruto, though."

She smiled as he made himself use Naruto's first name instead of one of the numerous epithets he was known as.

"Well, yes, it looks like it at first glance, but it only indicates that... that his tenant is involved. Besides it might be an Uchiha thing, though that's not as likely."

"Perhaps," he replied diplomatically.

Yet another awkward silence passed. Sakura started poking at her food halfheartedly.

"Is there anything else?"

"... None that I can think of. I'm still at Ino's. I'll stay there until I can talk things out with mom. I don't want her to..." she shrugged, trusting her father to understand what she meant. "But eventually we plan on moving in together. We're still hammering out the details though."

He nodded, and started to move his food around, cutting it into little bite-sized chunks.

"You will bring home your... teammates for dinner one of these days," he said stiffly.

Sakura looked up, startled. "You want to meet them? For dinner?" She beamed at her father, blinking back tears quickly. Sasuke and Naruto at her parents' was a scary thought, but the mere fact that her father had offered made her breath catch in her throat. "Sure! I'll bring them," she agreed enthusiastically. /Even if I have to knock them out and tie them up first/ Inner Sakura added with feral determination.

Yukihiro smiled, just a tiny bit, just enough, and she had to blink quickly and look away for a second. "Mom will have to be talked into it, though. Otherwise..." She winced, imagining how excruciating it would be.

"I'll talk with her. if these boys are going to share your life, I want to know them. If only so I know which kind of drink to slip the poison in," he added, nodding wisely, perfectly deadpan.

"Dad!" she protested, and then laughed, though she wasn't sure he was entirely joking. "I'll bring them," she repeated firmly, nodding.

"Even if you have to drag them by their feet?" her father asked, still blankly polite.

"Dad! How --"

"I remember being their age. A dinner with any of my lady-friends' parents would have made me squirm rather badly."

Sakura grinned. Her father had been a heartbreaker before he settled down with her mom. "Heh. This is true. But they'll come, and I'll beat them into behaving if need be." She flinched as she heard herself; it sounded as if they were savages. "I mean, I'm sure that they will anyway, but ... well..."

Her father looked over his glasses, arching a white eyebrow. "Well?"

"Sasuke has been alone for a long time," she began cautiously.

He nodded. "That's right, but I'm sure his parents taught him excellent manners, when they were still amongst us."

 _/The problem isn't so much him knowing good manners from bad as it is him deliberately pissing people off by totally ignoring them./_ Bah, she'd punch him into behaving if needed. She usually couldn't stand the very idea of hitting her Sasuke-kun, but giving her parents a bad impression was one thing he wouldn't do without receiving a swift beating for his trouble.

"Naruto... well. He never wants to be bad, but the fact is that he more or less raised himself. He always has the best of intentions, but he doesn't know a lot of social conventions. I'd trust him to execute a high-level jutsu, but not to know to put his napkin on his lap, or use the wrong fork or things like that." _/Or piss in presence of a young lady/_ Inner Sakura reminded her, flashing back to their first Chuunin exam and the few times it had happened afterwards.

Her father nodded seriously, though she could feel his amusement. "I... see. You will give him a crash course, I'm sure."

She nodded. She would give him several.

She was surprised to notice that she was done with her starter, and that the waiter was coming with the next course. She realized that the man must have waited, seeing that they were talking of unpleasant things, and gave him an embarrassed but grateful smile. Now, though, now she was ready to eat a horse.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke didn't have a problem with her using his washing machine. Nor, apparently, with her crumpling against his chest as her day finally caught up with her. Or not enough to pull away, at any rate, though she could feel how tense he was. It moved her, to know that he still allowed it, even though he hated it and probably thought that she should just suck it up.   
She didn't tell him any of it for that very reason. She needed to be a little less raw before she started to talk about it.

"Where is Naruto?" she asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Not a clue. He won't be back before seven thirty at least."

Which gave her more reason to push it back. She didn't want to tell it twice. She smiled, stepped back, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't question her because he hated to be questioned _/and figures that we'd babble it at him if it was really serious/_ , then picked up the dirty clothes she'd gotten from Ino's place after walking her father back to his office.

Well, she decided as she stared at the washing machine. Might as well start now. She left the small laundry room and asked Sasuke if he minded her using his bedroom. He frowned, then shrugged, though with some reluctance.

"I won't look at your things," she promised. He shrugged again; she decided it was good enough.

She sat against the wall, by the head of the bed, and did her best not to stare too much at Sasuke's personal stuff. Not that there were lots of it -- and was that a pair of boxers peeking out from under that chair ? And the dust bunnies. Here she had thought that Sasuke would be a cleaning freak.

 _/Well, it IS a boy's room... urgh./_ With a sigh, she closed her eyes, crossed her legs and relaxed against the wall. She wasn't here to gape but to meditate.

There were two steps to her way of meditating. The first step was obtaining calm into her mind, by looking at the issues of the day objectively, reflecting on their real gravity and possible ways to solve them, and then pushing them away to worry about later. This time it wasn't as easy as usual, but eventually, she managed.

The second step was envisioning, feeling, her entire body -- relaxing as completely as possible, then concentrating on the sensations she received from one finger after the other -- then her palm, her forearm, her elbow -- traveling from shoulder to shoulder, down one arm, then up again -- then down her spine, exploring her legs the same way -- then up, belly, stomach -- navel. Then sinking past the physical, past the little aches and the weight of her clothes and the way her collar ruffled the little hairs at the back of her neck and everything else, sinking until she could feel the ebb and flow of the vital energy in her body -- following it along, to where it hit a snag, to where it went too fast, too strong, tiring her out and damaging her body -- recalibrating, rebalancing her energies, and all along, gently blowing on the glow in her belly that was the source of her chakra.

There was a spark there, a tiny tiny one that she could almost swear she was imagining, so weak it was. She stroked it in passing, and kept going, smoothing out the wrinkles in her chakra system.

She was aware of the outside world, the voices and the noises out of the window, a clock ticking in a corner, Sasuke putting away the dishes with a faint clinking noise, Naruto walking in and dropping something on the couch.

Sakura let the sound of their voices rock her, providing a familiar background as she sank deeper into her trance. They were bantering as they moved around the small apartment, Naruto's voice boisterous and friendly, Sasuke's voice sarcastic and subtly amused. The exact words escaped her, but it didn't --

"--those panties?"

Well, almost.

"Oi, Sasuke, you didn't tell me you had that sorta kink," Naruto hollered from the laundry room, bemused and amused at once.

Sakura opened her eyes to see Sasuke stalk by to join Naruto. She jumped on her feet and hurried after him, her serenity totally dissipated under the knowledge of what she was going to see.

Naruto, as she saw over Sasuke's shoulder, was standing by the opened machine, half the laundry already hung up -- _/what a fucking day for him to decide to be thoughtful/_ \-- holding her pale blue panties out for all to see.

"They're Sakura's, you idiot!" Sasuke yelped, tearing them out of Naruto's hands.

"Whoa, any reason why you needed to wash her panties?"

Snarling, Sasuke executed a high kick that sent Naruto flying through the open window, then turned around and froze as he noticed her standing behind him. Blushing both, they avoided each other's eyes as the panties changed hands.

Naruto was climbing back over the windowsill when he saw her, and immediately attempted to protect his head. Sakura had been all ready to hit him, but, seeing him lose his balance, grabbed his collar and pulled him up, helping him through the window inside.

Of course he managed to "accidentally" trip, and stumbled right into her, forcing her to lean back on her hands as her butt bumped into the open washing machine.

"Um. Hi, babe," he attempted, a sheepish grin on his face.

Sakura growled, and would have yelled at him by pure instinct, if he hadn't chosen that moment to lean in and kiss her, managing to make it bold and slightly clumsy at the same time.

He kissed, she reflected, like he did everything else. Enthusiastically, without reserve. She was left out of breath and flushed, staring at him still leaning in with his hands on the machine around her, her lips damp and still feeling the phantom caress of his tongue between them.

"Eh. Hehe. So, um. Am I forgiven?" he asked her, grinning again, a bit more cockily this time.

She whapped him over the head, just because she didn't want him to think that kissing her like that would make her forget to be annoyed -- even though it did. And then she felt bad; hitting him had been okay before, when they were just friends and teammates, but now, she didn't know why, it felt like it should be wrong. /Domestic abuse, anyone/ But she wasn't beating him for real, he could take it easily, he -- argh. Okay, maybe she should try to stop that, and now she felt too guilty to still be annoyed.

"... I guess you're forgiven," she sighed, "just don't--"

"Fondle your panties when you're not inside?"

"Naruto!" she growled. Oh, he hadn't just -- grr!

Well, that was a resolution that hadn't lasted long.

"Ow!" Naruto yelped, rubbing his head, and then grinned as he danced out of reach. "Hehe. Or did you just mean, don't wave them under Saaasuke-kun's nose?"

"Naruto, I'm going to kill you!" she yelled as she chased him down the corridor. He was too quick, though -- she always missed him by barely a few inches. "Sasuke-kun, stop him!"

Sasuke exited the kitchen, watched them run a few circles around the couch, expressionless, then casually stuck out his foot in Naruto's path. She smiled grimly, expressing her gratefulness, and stalked toward the blond, who was busy ranting at Sasuke.

Sasuke wasn't even listening to him. He was staring at her instead, still expressionless. She paused in her tracks, confused. The black-haired boy arched an eyebrow and gave her hand a pointed look.

She was still holding her panties. She blushed explosively and shoved them in her pocket hastily, mortified.

She saw his feet first, as he stepped toward her, and had to put all her strength of will into looking up at him. He reached for her pocket slowly, pushing a strap inside before zipping it closed, and her eyes still hadn't reached higher than his chin when he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.

It was amazing how differently they kissed, she thought, and then wondered why she was still thinking a hundred miles a minute while Sasuke kissed her. The nerves probably. She hadn't thought so much when Naruto had kissed her earlier, but with Sasuke, she just couldn't stop. His lips weren't as full as Naruto's, and he wasn't as bold and invasive -- she had yet to feel his tongue, but there was something in that soft, cautious touch that was just -- just more... that made her heart jump and made her feel dizzy and fluttery and -- and why was she still comparing them instead of enjoying it anyway?

'... where is the idiot?' she wondered suddenly, and opened her eyes, guilt filling her as she realized how totally she'd stopped caring the second Sasuke had leaned in.

He was watching them, a soft, almost wistful smile on his face. She reached out over Sasuke's shoulder, feeling like she'd excluded him -- and then gave Sasuke an alarmed look as she wondered if he'd felt excluded earlier. He'd been gone when Naruto had ended their kiss, after all.

Naruto took her hand and let her reel him in. Sasuke glanced back at him, expression unreadable again. She leaned against Sasuke hesitantly, not wanting him to think that she considered the both of them interchangeable, and squeezed Naruto's hand; _'I don't want you to leave.'_ He smiled, a soft, unguarded expression that caught her by surprise, made her tighten her hold on the two of them. Sasuke could make her heart jump anytime just by being himself, but she'd just discovered that under certain circumstances, Naruto could, too.

She rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder hesitantly, not knowing how far she could push before he started feeling invaded. Naruto stepped around him and slipped an arm around her waist, leaning against her side, his cheek against her hair. She wondered if they were looking at each other over her head, or ignoring each other, and wondered with sudden fear if she would always be the focus in their relationship, if everything would always rest on her shoulders. The responsibility scared her.

"Hey..." she started softly, nervously. "Do you guys ever... you know, kiss or anything, when I'm not here?"

She straightened up a little to look at Sasuke -- blinking, caught off guard -- and Naruto, eyebrows up to his forehead protector.

"Uh. No." Naruto gave Sasuke a cautiously curious look. Sasuke scowled and looked away.

"Why?" she asked, more casually than she felt like.

"Well, no. Just hasn't happened. Why d'you ask, wanna watch?" he replied, snickering.

"No! it's not like that. I just ... I was wondering, if you wanted to, that's all. I mean..."

she didn't know how to explain her dilemma without sounding egoistical, or how to tell them that she was scared to end up the prize in another one of their eternal competitions, without insulting them.

"I thought, that is, I assumed, that you... didn't mind each other like that," she mumbled into Sasuke's shoulder.

"I don't," Naruto replied after a little pause. "Sex is sex. Besides Sasuke's pretty."

"I'm not pretty, moron," Sasuke grumbled back, but looked away before answering her. "I... don't mind either.

Sakura had the feeling that where Naruto had honestly meant "I don't mind", Sasuke meant something closer to "I really don't mind."

"Then, um..."

Sasuke squirmed, as if he wanted to pull away from them. Naruto shrugged.

"She wants to see us kiss."

"I don't--!" she protested, blushing.

"Hey, it's only fair. So, bastard?"

"It's not the same," Sasuke grumbled back.

"Ah... sorry," she whispered. "How exactly? I don't want to pry, but I'm -- wondering, and..."

"... It just is," he muttered.

"Oh, what's the matter?" Naruto intervened, but he looked like he knew exactly what Sasuke meant. When the blond leaned closer, he was looking more nervous and embarrassed than he'd ever looked with her.

"You don't have to..." Her voice trailed off into stunned silence as she watched them kiss. It was awkward and stiff, and they were avoiding each other's eyes -- a feat considering how close they were. She cringed, and was about to push them apart, but they separated before she could.

"That," sneered Sasuke," was pathetic."

Naruto gave a cry of protest, and grabbed his shirt to reel him in, trapping Sakura between them. Their lips mashed together with a force that made her wince. Naruto appeared to be trying to bite Sasuke's sneer off his face; Sasuke was kissing back just as aggressively, his hand closed in a white-knuckled grip on the back of Naruto's neck. She watched, stunned, feeling their bodies tense and push against her, their muscles bulge and stiffen as if they were about to fight again.

"H-hey," she protested weakly, astonished.

They broke apart, lips puffy and bruised, tongues retreating into their respective mouths, and stood there glaring at each other, her still caught between them.

"... I... wonder why I'm so surprised that you kiss like you want to beat each other up instead," she sighed, shaken. "That's the way you do everything else."

Naruto laughed, though it still sounded a bit edgy. "See, that's the difference. It's like -- I'd make love with you, but I'd fuck him."

She stared at him, then at Sasuke who didn't look like he disagreed with that assessment. So they didn't feel -- they didn't ... like each other like that? They were just ... just fuckbuddies then? She didn't know if she should feel relief or worry. In the one hand they weren't about to decide that they were gay and didn't need her, but in the other hand, if she loved them and they loved her but not each other -- but the team bond and the friendship were stronger than that; it didn't matter, did it? She was so confused.

"We're guys, Sakura," Sasuke finally said, frowning a little. "Just because you want cuddling and romance, don't assume we do."

She opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn't find her words.

"Hey, I like cuddling, and I'm manly enough to admit it," Naruto replied, pulling her close and petting her hair possessively as he stuck out his tongue at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked away. "I don't mind... with you, Sakura. With you it's okay. With Naruto, it would bother me. I can't do casual hand-holding or caresses or things like that with him."

Sakura was still confused, but Naruto was nodding in agreement, so she concluded, still befuddled, that it was a macho men thing, and resolved to talk it out with Ino. Maybe she would have a better insight.

"And, uhm, when I'm here? Does it bother you then? I didn't notice..."

"No, not when you're here," Sasuke sighed. "It's fine then. But --" he gave her a stern little frown -- not an angry one, but a 'you better not take it badly, because I'm being serious' one. "But you don't need to drag the second one into it every time." He hesitated, then finished quickly. "It's enough to know that I'd be welcome if I wanted to."

Naruto grinned. "Someone's getting fed up with all that talking about his feeling, I see!"

The blond boy hugged her a last time, kissed her hair, then let her go. Apparently Sasuke wasn't the only one who had humored her long enough.

She made a note to keep extending invitations to Naruto, though; she couldn't say that he was as sure of his welcome as Sasuke was and she was a little afraid that he would assume a lack of invitation meant a lack of welcome. Sometimes she would probably want alone time with Sasuke, but she couldn't let Naruto think that it happened more often than it did. It was going to be hard enough to keep things balanced.


	5. 5 - Up to Snuff (Sasuke) (A.K.A.: Sasuke Broods Too Damn Much. Cheer Up, Emo Boy.)

Monday. Start of the new week. Return to normal life, waiting for Kakashi at the bridge. Hopefully, a mission, a chance to hone his skills even further...

Hah. Right. After that mess with Naruto's tenant, Team Seven would be lucky if they got anything but D-class for the next year.

Sasuke stared at the water running merrily under the red bridge in the same cheerful, unconcerned way it always did, and briefly, irrationally resented it for staying the same when his whole life was being fucked with once again.

Oh, sure, it wasn't really a bad change in itself; and ninjas adapted easily to new circumstances, it was in the job description.

It wasn't a bad change in the same way as his entire clan getting murdered was. But it fucked with his plans all the same.

He glanced at Naruto; the blond was goofing off on the handrail, trying to spot fish in the shadows of the bridge. Naruto didn't seem the worse for wear, for someone who had spent his night roaming the building -- and, incidentally, mildly freaking Sasuke out.

When Sasuke had been told about Naruto's sleepwalking problem, during their brief escape from the village, he'd assumed it meant that Kyuubi was somehow in control -- but he should have known better. If Kyuubi had really been able to take total control while Naruto was unaware, then they would have locked him up ages ago. Jiraiya, for all that he liked the blond pest, would have never covered that up.

Yet even though the eyes were indeed red, the nails way too long, and the behavior not quite human -- Naruto never sniffed things that openly; or hunted bats, and mice, and cats, and other animals who had the misfortune of coming out at night... Well, Sasuke kind of doubted that Kyuubi no Youko would ever lower himself to actually look twice at that sort of prey. It seemed so far beneath him. Besides, there was no real recognition in his -- their? -- eyes. Sasuke had been acknowledged as being there, sometimes he'd been sniffed too, or nudged and bumped into semi-affectionately; but they didn't talk to him and didn't answer beyond a twitch or a vague frown when he talked to them.

He'd only met Kyuubi face-to-face once, but it was enough to remember the demon-fox's expressions. They were wildly different from Naruto's, but there was no denying that they were there. They were not the expression -- or lack thereof -- that he'd showed last night.

Sasuke didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do about the incident, or if he was even supposed to do anything. He didn't know how much Naruto was aware of, or how dangerous the sleepwalking was to the seal; if Sasuke was supposed to report it, or hide it, or if it really wasn't important at all.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, startling him. The blond leaped over Sasuke's head, and took a few more steps on the guardrail before dropping to the girl's level. Sasuke rolled his eyes and straightened up, leaning on his elbow as he watched them exchange embarrassed, pleased looks.

"Hello, Naruto... Sasuke-kun."

He could hear a smile in Sakura's voice, but there was still something subdued about it. It annoyed him that one of his new duties was to notice, and to try to find a way to fix it.

He shouldn't have minded caring. But he cared. And he minded a hell of a lot. Caring was only a burden for an avenger.

He'd allowed that burden to slow him down a little when it had become clear that his teammates wouldn't let him leave them behind -- and also when Itachi had more-or-less disappeared. He'd allowed them to slow down his quest for power, because they wouldn't let him go and he had been made aware that he needed more time to catch up to his brother. He had despised himself for needing them, for missing an opportunity -- but the opportunity was gone with Orochimaru's death and they -- his teammates, his teacher, the Hokage and the Council and fucking everyone -- had been careful to only allow him to glimpse occasions to get stronger which came from the Leaf. And after a few years, he'd grudgingly admitted that maybe Konoha didn't stifle his growth the way he'd thought at thirteen.

But there was a difference between having teammates dogging his heels on his path to power, and settling down to raise a family.

He didn't want to share his thoughts with the two of them, though; despite how well they knew him, they would still try to make it better by insisting on looking on the good sides of the situation. He was aware of the good sides. It didn't dull his first goal in life any, and it didn't make him feel any less hampered by the shitload of new responsibilities he'd acquired.

Naruto could laugh and be carefree, he thought with some resentment, as he watched Sakura hesitate a second before giving the blond a peck on the cheek, and Naruto beam and launch into a retelling of his grand adventures with the contents of Sasuke's cupboards. The blond was getting almost everything he'd ever wanted, and there was no good reason why it would prevent him from reaching for Hokage later on.

Sakura, at least, was more sensible; she wasn't walking on Cloud Nine all the time.

Sasuke didn't want to make it worse for everyone by being an ass, so when Sakura came to him and paused, unsure, he leaned toward her a little, a neutral expression firmly affixed to his face. She pecked his offered cheek quickly, and then beamed. It made him twitch inwardly. If only he could be stopped from obsessing over his own problems as easily -- argh. And now he was feeling sorry for himself.

"Still at the Yamanakas?" he asked, just to stop thinking.

Sakura looked relieved by his starting of the conversation. "Yes. They're so nice... But my father promised he'd talk to Mom, so maybe I'll be back home soon," she added, making a decent attempt at a hopeful grin.

"That's great, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "I mean -- you probably miss them and all, so..."

"I do, yes -- um, listen, both of you," she added quickly, lowering her voice. "I have to tell you a few things before Kakashi-sensei arrives."

There was an odd quality to her voice, as if she were forcing herself to keep on sounding detached. Sasuke braced himself for news that he probably didn't want to hear.

"What's that? You want to hide things from your favorite teacher?"

Sasuke twitched, and Naruto and Sakura whirled around. "AAH!"

One of these days, he would make Kakashi tell him how the hell he managed to totally cover up the gathering of chakra that signaled an incoming. He was also pretty sure that the swirl of leaves now littering the bridge was there as a sign of courtesy -- or laziness.

Kakashi smiled genially at his students, crouching on his pillar. "Sorry, sorry! I was waylaid by our most beloved Hokage..."

"Liar!" exclaimed Naruto predictably. "Why would old hag Tsunade -- wait a sec, you're not even late!"

Kakashi blinked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"... He's not?" Sakura asked, quickly checking the position of the sun.

Naruto boggled. "Well, maybe ten minutes. But that's NOTHING! Sensei, are you sick!"

Now Kakashi looked faintly embarrassed; Tsunade had probably tricked him. "... As a matter of fact, no. Hokage-sama insisted that I transmit this to you, Sakura."

She took the rolled up sheets of paper and undid the knot, glanced at it, and then bit her lip. Sasuke arched an eyebrow at her, and Naruto tried unsubtly to look over her shoulder. Sakura moved as if to hide it from him, and then sighed, and just let him read on.

"What's that? A timetable? Pushups, jogging..."

"This is my new training regimen," she replied casually, at odds with her previous attitude. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What do you need a new training regimen for?" he asked.

"Well, Hokage-sama has decided that I'll be safer if I make sure to be in excellent health. You know that babies draw on the mother's chakra reserves..."

As a matter of fact, he knew, and he knew that she knew. Why on Earth would she try to misdirect him by pretending to share info? Even Naruto was aware of that little fact, even if his mildly surprised expression proved that it slipped his mind sometimes. Besides, there were a lot of sheets for one training regimen, unless the Hokage was detailing new and complicated exercises.

"Ah -- Kakashi-sensei, thank you, for bringing this," she continued, turning away from the boys, a smile firmly affixed to her face.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a suspicious look. Kakashi was still watching them all, expressionless and silent.

Naruto scratched his head and glanced at the papers again. "Uh, Sakura-chan... That's really all your training routine? There's a lot of papers... It's spread on one week, right? 'Cause that would be _brutal_."

Sakura quickly checked the sheets of paper. "... Um, no, it's daily, but there are other things too -- it's not just the training."

"What's the rest?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"Nutrients I have to get per day, recommended foods and vitamin supplements, things like that..."

"Why d'you have to get all that?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.

Sasuke snorted. "Every woman does when she's pregnant, dumbass. People sort of LIKE having both mother and baby healthy and surviving the pregnancy."

Had Sakura just flinched?

"Oh, so it's normal then?" Naruto asked with some relief; Sasuke wasn't listening anymore, because she'd flinched again. "But not every woman trains harder when they're pregnant... What about the civilians -- guys?"

Sakura winced, looking away from Sasuke, and glanced at Kakashi imploringly. Their teacher shook his head.

"Sakura, you have to tell them," Kakashi commented.

"Tell us _what_?" Naruto demanded, bewildered and worried.

Sakura twitched, and continued as if she hadn't heard the blond. "But -- I mean... How do you know anyway? Did Hokage-sama tell you?" she demanded, a note of outrage in her voice. "Did she?"

Kakashi gave her a long, bland, and faintly disapproving look. "I'm going to be training you personally, Sakura," he replied softly. "She didn't tell me much, but she did tell me what I needed to know. It wasn't hard to fill in the blanks."

Sakura visibly wilted. Sasuke was starting to really dislike that.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, touching her shoulder hesitantly.

She winced, hesitated.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke demanded, pushing away from the guardrail.

"Ah -- it's just... the pregnancy is siphoning off more chakra than it should. I mean..." she took a deep breath, "a lot more."

It wasn't so much the words, as the tone, the way she didn't look up at either of them. The way Kakashi gazed at their little group, careful not to get involved.

"How much danger are you in, exactly?"

She didn't answer right away. Behind her, Naruto had gone still.

"... A lot. I should have told you two yesterday," Sakura added, giving him a miserable look. "But, um... Ididn'twanttobreakthemood," she muttered, looking down at her feet with rapt attention.

Sasuke scowled, dissatisfied with himself. Usually, Sakura was relatively easy to see through. Not as obvious as Naruto, but it was easy enough to see when her smile was false. Yesterday, though, he hadn't noticed that she was hiding something in particular.

"And you didn't think that it was a little more important than 'the mood'?"

Naruto hissed between his teeth and glowered at him. "Don't be a dick, Sasuke, she told us today."

The moron dared to look disappointed in him. What the hell. Sasuke sneered at him. "Only because Kakashi made her."

"I was going to!" she protested, missing Naruto's aborted gesture to -- touch her, hold her.

And now she sounded hurt, and Naruto was still looking disappointed, in him and a little in her, and Sasuke was the bad guy again.

"Enough." Kakashi dropped from his perch, hands in his pockets. "I don't care to know what you do during downtime. You have three D-rank missions for today. Sasuke, Naruto, you'll share the tasks between the two of you. Sakura, with me. We'll get you started on that training regimen."

He paused, stared at the three of them.

"From the moment you arrive here, to the moment I send you home, you are my soldiers. Leave your personal life at home. Our team doesn't need the baggage."

Sasuke stared at the planks under his feet and pretended that he didn't feel chastised. Kakashi was right, of course. This was not the time to whine and bitch; it was the time to train, and possibly earn some money. D-ranks seemed very much beneath him -- them -- but he could be professional.

Probably better than Naruto, too.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the next two weeks, Sasuke's resolve to behave like a professional was sorely tested.

Along with the usual weeding and gardening _("... Splash me with mud again and DIE.")_ , delivering messages, food and heavy items all over Konoha _("Betcha I'll be done first!")_ , carrying old women's purchases _("Such a handsome and well-behaved young man. Tell me, do you know my granddaughter Emi? She's about your age and...")_ , they also had the good luck of collecting kunai lost by academy students during a field trip _("How the HELL did that land there?")_ , assisting the teacher of the five-year-old kids _("It's like herding cats..." "I'd rather BE herding cats." "... Saasuke... Please tell me that ours will take after Shika and just stay put all day..."),_ and babysitting/bodyguarding the nephew of some noble or other during a trip to an amusement park _("Naruto, damn it, you don't spank your customer!" "Spoiled brat deserved worse! He was only pretending to cry anyway." "Yes, but his parents aren't pretending to dock our pay, you retard.")._

Then Hokage-sama needed her library sorted out and the subjects of her scrolls noted down in alphabetical order _("Oh wow, that's really gross. Look, Sasuke!" "... Get that scroll out of my face if you don't want it stuffed up your ass." "Less flirting, more lifting, brats -- you still have these crates to do."),_ and then it was laundry at the hospital _("Oh, OWW, they've put electric fences around the water tower!" "...I wonder why, moron." "... Oh, right. Uh... Sasuke..." "Less whispering, more sheets hanging, boys! And I better not see you using these laundry baskets for anything untoward, alright?" "What! We weren't --" "Oh, you weren't inappropriate, but them foxes, they're all perverts, you can't trust 'em. Guard your rear, child." "...You want your rear guarded, Saaaasuke-kun?" "Ah, shut up -- and don't even think about it.")_ , and then it was filling in for sick orderlies at the senile old ninjas ward. _("Well at least there's not a lot of them --" ZING "--but who the HELL thought they should get to keep shuriken!" "You don't want to deal with the paranoia they work themselves into when we try to take their weapons, kid. You don't. They haven't lived so long because they're -- watch out!" "... Shower. Where." "... Uh. At least the bedpan was changed a few hours ago?" "SHOWER. **WHERE**.")_

Sasuke did his very best to stay focused, though he quite missed Sakura at times. Competing with Naruto could make the most tedious physical tasks entertaining, and Naruto never got hurt when Sasuke felt like not talking and tuned him out; but there were moments he wondered how they could do anything without her to play the diplomat between the two of them. They play-fought -- even when they knew perfectly well that often it wasn't appropriate -- about as often as they fought seriously, with cutting words and fists to the face -- and they were both too stubborn to apologize afterwards.

And she was the only one who actually knew anything about the hospital and its residents -- or, hell, the only one who had any nurturing instincts at all, not to mention actual patience -- and she was too busy kicking the shit out of things to keep the crazy old coots at bay. Did he look like a goddamn nurse to the sadist who gave these missions out?

When the missions didn't take all day, Naruto and Sasuke usually went to train with the rest of their team. Afterwards, they walked Sakura home to the Yamanakas -- they'd used to hang out from time to time, but that was before Sakura had started trying to convince her mother that she wasn't busy being a slut every minute she wasn't training ... not that there were a lot left of _those_ minutes anymore. Besides he saw Naruto all evening, there was really no surprise if half the time the blond skipped away to go spy on bathhouses with Konohamaru, or whatever it was that they did together. Or maybe he went and bothered Iruka, whatever. And the few times Kakashi let them go early, and Naruto and Sakura could hang out, Sasuke was the one who needed to go to the bank to talk about his accounts, or had to write letters right and left to see about getting as many of his clan's old rights, privileges and status back as possible. The political and legal ramifications were giving him a headache.

Needless to say, he wasn't in a very receptive mood when Sakura interrupted the relative quiet of their lunch break -- which he was using to train a little more; his taijutsu was getting rusty -- and announced, "My father wants to invite you two to dinner."

"... Uh. Okay," Naruto stuttered out from his spot on the grass a few feet away.

Sakura looked very uncomfortable. "As my... um. Boyfriends, I guess. I told him a little while ago, and. Well. He knows."

Sasuke cringed inwardly. Meeting Sakura's parents? That was going to be excruciating. He had enough on his plate already with all the legal responsibilities, he was going to have to answer to enough people as it was. The idea of justifying, defending himself and their relationship again in front of someone who had no real authority over him or his was grating on his nerves.

"And he really wants to meet us?" Naruto seemed to be worried about getting dragged down to the basement and clobbered.

"Well... Yes. He, um, he's not perfectly okay with it, I don't think -- it was a shock, and I think he's still doing his best to wrap his mind around it, but... He'll try to keep an open mind. That's good, isn't it?"

Sasuke nodded absently while Naruto beamed at her. He supposed it was, for her; but he'd almost forgotten what it was like to have parents to answer to, people who had an emotional investment, and responsibility, in your life.

"And your mother?"

Sakura avoided their eyes. "She... Well, she knows you're coming."

Sasuke's eye twitched, but somehow he managed not to retort anything. "When?"

"Next Friday evening. Seven PM."

He narrowed his eyes, nodded, and went back to his kata. There wasn't much to add, really.

She kept watching him as he trained, with reproachful, disappointed eyes, and only stopped when Kakashi came back and guided her through more exercises. Naruto scowled at Sasuke, and then went his own way.

The last time Naruto had followed the patterns with Sakura, she had ended up screaming at him for getting it on the third try, when she was going through her tenth and still having trouble with it. Usually, Sasuke discreetly followed with the Sharingan, in case Kakashi showed her something that he could use later -- not that it happened often, but you never knew -- but today, he turned away.

It was still early, certainly. But he wasn't stupid; he could read her dissatisfaction with herself, and the way Kakashi frowned sometimes, and her body language the few times they'd seen her leaving the Hokage's office at the hospital. She was progressing some, but at her current rate of progress... She was working too hard, tiring herself out, and it wasn't enough. Maybe it was just that she hadn't found her rhythm yet, that her body was still trying to adapt, and she just needed more time. Maybe.

And then there was the way she would sick up at the most random smells, and the constant fatigue -- though that was probably mostly due to the training -- and the way she would wince and rub at her chest sometimes ... It had been surprising and... well, okay, interesting, the first time he'd caught her doing that, but by now it was clear that she wasn't comfortable.

But Kakashi was already training her, and as for the lack of comfort -- well, Sasuke wasn't a medic-nin either. There was nothing he could do about her health.

There wasn't much he could do about most of their problems, but he didn't want to think about it. He lost himself in his practice, again and again and again. No thoughts to bother him, nothing but his body and the way it answered to him.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was past mid-afternoon when Kakashi called him. Sasuke wordlessly went to spar with Sakura while their teacher drilled Naruto on much-needed genjutsu.

As the hours crawled by, he could see her tiring out, losing her coordination. She tried too hard to compensate, becoming more and more erratic and reckless. Sasuke forbade himself from commenting on her efforts in anything but an utterly neutral tone. He tried to silence the growing certainty, but he couldn't; he saw it in her eyes too.

At her current rate of progress, she wasn't going to make it.

He called for a halt, finally. She was making mistake after mistake. If she had been Naruto, he would have been mocking her; he didn't comment, turning away to get something to drink. Sakura's taijutsu had always been inferior to his -- he couldn't really expect a challenge -- and they were trying to get her body to develop its chakra pathways, to get used to handling bigger quantities, first and foremost; teaching her more hand to hand was secondary. That she got exhausted too quickly, though -- that was frustrating, but it was useless to point it out to her; it was doubtless that she was aware of the fact.

She was pale and her jaws were clenched, eyes a little too wide and a little too wet; he would have hated to be seen like that. He avoided looking at her as he picked up her canteen and passed it to her.

It was slapped out of his hand, catching him by surprise, and went sailing into a tree.

It was just her frustration, he told himself as he looked at her, forbidding himself from feeling the same.

"You -- you..."

"... Yes?" he prompted her. She looked ready to blow up, or to break down; he didn't know which. Maybe the pregnancy hormones played a part in that, he considered absently.

"Asshole!" she screeched, fists clenched, trembling.

He was vaguely aware that Kakashi and Naruto couldn't have missed that. Most of his attention was on her, though.

"What did I do now?" he asked tiredly, and just a little defensively.

"You -- you're looking at me and not saying anything and you don't even fucking CARE, do you! You don't care, you just despise me because I'm not up to your standards--"

"Sakura," he interrupted her, frowning. "I'm not saying anything because you're already aware of the problems; I don't see what it would add for me to --"

"Maybe a feeling that you give a damn about me? Not the baby, _me_!"

For a second, she looked horrified at blurting that out, and then, as he only stared, shocked, her anger came roaring back.

"God, Sasuke, would it kill you to just -- just hold me or something -- or even look fucking sorry -- or angry, even, then I'd know that you give a damn!"

What? She didn't seriously think -- what did she want, an engraved poem about his feelings all over the Hokage monument? "How am I supposed to guess when you want me to hold you?" he snapped back, clenching his teeth.

She didn't listen, continuing her diatribe. "We've been together for three weeks now and you only kiss me when Naruto kisses me first! You never touch me when you don't _have_ to and -- and..."

He unclenched his fists forcefully, reached for her shoulder. That was what she wanted, right? She dodged his hand, bending to pick up her bag with jerky movements.

"Sakura--"

"I'm going home."

Naruto burst through the bushes, looking alarmed. "Sakura-chan! What's going on?"

"Nothing," she snapped, her back on them. "I'm done. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kakashi's hand fell on Naruto's shoulder as he opened his mouth to call her back. The blond stared up at his teacher, and then at Sakura as she left the field, and finally at Sasuke, who was still rooted in the same spot.

"What did you DO to her?" Naruto exclaimed.

"How the hell should I know?" Sasuke hissed back.

Naruto shrugged off Kakashi's hand, getting in Sasuke's face. "She was crying!"

Sasuke really wanted to deck him. Somehow he refrained. "I don't KNOW, alright?"

"Well, what did you say to her?"

"Nothing, damn it! What was I supposed to say? 'Wow, you really suck today'?"

Two heavy, gloved hands landed on their shoulders, separating them. "Sasuke. Naruto." Kakashi sounded annoyed for once.

"Yeah, don't mix up your personal life and ninja stuff, we know," Naruto muttered, looking away.

"You've both done that today. You and Sakura. Remember, next time. As for you, Sasuke," he added wryly, "you didn't mix it up enough."

Sasuke looked up at him, incredulous. "I should have -- what, kissed her out here?"

"If I see any of you kissing during training," Kakashi replied dryly, "that will be twenty laps around the Forest of Death. Inside the fence." He let that sink in before continuing. "You don't have to kiss her to express your respect of her abilities as your teammate, though. No one likes feeling like dead weight."

"But she knew that she was doing badly," Sasuke opposed, scowling.

Kakashi sighed. "She doesn't have the same natural advantages as you, or Naruto, do. Her best isn't going to be anything like yours. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't encourage her to reach it and go past it."

"That wasn't her best," he muttered. Naruto was glaring at him as if Sasuke was being disloyal for admitting it. "It _wasn't_ ," he insisted. "She kept getting frustrated and wanting to go too fast."

"Then point that out," Kakashi drawled in a long-suffering tone. "So long as you point out what she does right, too."

Sasuke was starting to get really, really tired of feeling chastened.

"Yeah, she can't read your mind," Naruto intervened, lower lip jutting out in a stubborn pout. "Girls like it when you actually tell them stuff."

Sasuke glared at Naruto and wished that he would just stop butting in already. He didn't need them to gang up on him. " _You_ don't need me to tell you when you mess up."

"That's because I don't need your lessons!" Naruto growled, bristling. "...Besides when I mess up I get a fist in the face; 's not as if I don't notice where I went wrong."

"Should I start punching her in the face, then?"

"What? No!"

"Maybe, yes."

Sasuke and Naruto stared at Kakashi, who now looked bored.

"Not yet, obviously. But if you want to take the Chuunin exam this year, she needs to be aware of the holes in her guard."

Sasuke gave him an incredulous look. "What, I should break her bones too? Naruto heals so fast it doesn't matter, but she--"

"She has some training as a medic-nin," Kakashi reminded them. "If you want her to be of any use on the field, she needs to start using these abilities in combat situations. Knowing the theory is fine, but if she can't use it outside of a calm, controlled environment, it's useless."

Pulling his book out of his pocket, he started looking for his page. Sasuke looked away. No more berating, finally.

"You two will keep on sparring with her whenever possible. Give her two more weeks, and then start taking the openings she leaves."

Naruto looked uncomfortable. "But, Kakashi-sensei..."

"... None of the teams you will encounter in the exam will have a problem punching her in the stomach, you know."

Sasuke tensed up; Naruto jerked.

"Seeing how hard the child is clinging to her, I doubt she'll lose it from a normal hit. But you don't know what kind of adversaries you will encounter, and even if she isn't showing by then, her scent will be different. People _will_ notice, and _will_ try to take advantage of it."

Sasuke sighed and rubbed at his face. Great, one more worry to add to his pile.

Kakashi turned the page, and started to walk away. "Tomorrow morning, same hour."

Naruto grumbled a goodbye as they picked up their stuff. Then they more-or-less fell into step, both sour and discontented.

When they reached the top of the stairs, and Sasuke unlocked his door, they still hadn't said a word to each other. Sasuke pretended that he was glad for the quiet, except that Naruto's thoughts were so loud he could almost hear them, and he hated that even more than a good yelling session.

Sasuke would have liked to sit heavily on his couch and glare at the far wall, but Naruto's sleeping bag was still spread on the seat. He would have liked to take a shower, but Naruto was already getting undressed. He paced in his bedroom, and then, wondering why he was locking himself away in his own apartment, stomped to the kitchen.

No fresh groceries. Well, of course not; he hadn't bothered to shop in a week, and Naruto only ever bought meat and fruit, as if he'd keel over if he touched vegetables. As for the cupboards... There was no way to find anything which didn't involve pulling the boxes out to see what was behind. None of it was that stable, either. He picked up one fallen package, two fallen packages, and kicked the third one across the kitchen when it waited for him to straighten up before falling.

"Damn it, Naruto, will you stop stuffing your instant ramen packages in every nook and cranny?"

"Ramen what?" Naruto emerged from the bathroom, a towel around his waist. Sasuke glared at him. Moron was dripping everywhere.

"Do you even know how to dry yourself properly?"

"It's tiles, it'll dry. What's that about ramen?"

"Stop stocking up as if they're going to stop selling it tomorrow, and stop invading my cupboards with it," Sasuke snapped back, turning away to stuff things back in. He still hadn't found anything to eat, and now Naruto was strutting around, wet and almost naked, as if he owned the place.

"What am I supposed to do with them, build a fort around the couch?" Naruto grouched back as he left the doorway to get dressed.

"That would be an idea."

A wet towel sailed from the living room past the kitchen, landing on the tiles at the bottom of the bathroom door.

"Hey, it's not like you can't eat some when you feel like it, you know. I don't mind sharing my ramen with you."

A ramen packet sailed from the kitchen to the back of Naruto's head.

"Maybe I don't want it."

"Ow!"

The packet sailed right back; Sasuke caught it before it could break open on a wall and threw it in the wastebasket.

"Maybe you're an asshole. Seriously, what's up with you today? First you make Sakura yell at you and now you get all bent out of shape about ramen of all things! What's your -- oof."

Naruto hit the floor with a satisfying thud. Sasuke assured his grip on the back of his neck and forbade himself from thinking anything about the position, the bare back, or the way Naruto's damp hair was sticking to his hand. At least the moron was wearing pants.

"Sasuke!" Naruto had been trying to sound angry, but angry or not, wheezing was never that threatening.

"No. More. Ramen. In. My. Cupboards." Naruto bucked and twisted under him; Sasuke tightened the hold of his legs on his waist, and caught one of his wrists before the blond could join his hands to try a jutsu. "Oh no you don't, not inside."

"So don't ATTACK me inside!"

Sasuke slapped the back of his head; Naruto snarled in outrage. "If it was an attack, you'd be dead, cretin!"

"Well forgive me for thinking I'm safe inside your walls, asshole!" Naruto bucked again, jerking his hand closer to his head; still trying to control him, Sasuke didn't think to let go of his wrist until Naruto's teeth clamped down on his forearm.

"What the hell was that for, fucker!" Sasuke hissed, rolling off Naruto and kicking him in the side. He landed in a crouch, a knee on the floor, and spared a quick glance at his arm; Naruto hadn't broken the skin, but he was going to have a hell of a bruise.

"YOU are calling ME fucker? You're the one who tackled me from behind with no warning, you crazy son of a bitch!" Naruto was in a matching crouch at the other end of the room, teeth bared.

Maybe he would have pounced, if the neighbor hadn't knocked on the wall hard, making them both start guiltily. Naruto took a deep breath, and then straightened up slowly, giving Sasuke a dirty look. "No, seriously, what the hell's wrong with you today? And fuck, today, what am I saying -- all of last week! I'm used to you being a bastard, but -- damn it."

The blond stomped to the couch and started to pile up his clothes, folding them haphazardly. Sasuke hissed between his clenched teeth and got back up on his feet, picking up a sock and lobbing it, not at Naruto's head like he wanted to, but at the couch. By his head. Naruto didn't react; Sasuke sighed wearily.

"So now it's my fault Sakura yelled at me for her failure?"

Naruto whirled around, teeth bared, taking Sasuke aback. He had fangs now, and slits for pupils. "You better not have told her to her face that she was a failure."

"I didn't say anything," he replied frostily, pretending not to care about the feral growl lining Naruto's words. "She's the one who got all bent out of shape because I'm supposed to divine when she wants me to hold her or kiss her or whatever."

Naruto stared at him, then snorted and turned back to his clothes, folding them with jerky movements. "God, I know I'm retarded with all that social stuff, but you take the cake. She's a nice girl and she's in love with you; you should want to do that whenever you get a chance, because she does!"

Sasuke took in a deep breath, then released it slowly. "I am never going to be physically affectionate, and if she expects it of me, she better be ready to be disappointed."

Naruto twitched. "We know you're a frozen ice-bitch, you dick. It still wouldn't kill you to force yourself when she really needs you to."

"And how am I supposed to know exactly?"

Naruto turned to face him again, fists clenched. "Dunno, when she looks like she's about to cry, maybe?" Naruto stared at him a few seconds longer, then snorted dismissively, his back to him again. "You really are a jackass, Sasuke."

"... Fuck you."

"You wish, bottom boy."

Sasuke's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger. "What did you call me -- where the hell are you going?"

Naruto had picked up a shirt and was making his way toward the door as he pulled it over his head.

"To see Iruka-sensei."

"What for?" Sasuke asked, annoyed. "You saw him yesterday."

"Just to talk to someone who's not such a fucking asshole, alright? At least with him I always feel welcome!"

The door slammed, leaving Sasuke staring at it.

... Bastard. Sasuke snarled wordlessly, kicking one of Naruto's scrolls out of his way, and stomped back to his bedroom. He slammed the door too, but it was a lot less satisfying when there was no one to hear it.

When the neighbor protested a second time, he slammed it again, and regretted not owning a radio.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The week went on with the three of them pretending -- badly -- that nothing had happened. During training, Sakura was depressed, and Naruto sulked. After training, Ino usually picked up Sakura and left, pointedly avoiding looking at the boys, and Naruto murmured some excuse or other and went to find one of his friends. At least he still slept in Sasuke's apartment, but it wasn't as if they did much more than share the area.

Sasuke was bored, and trying to pretend that he wasn't starting to feel guilty; but he didn't have a clue how to fix the mess.

Tonight, as had become his habit this week, Naruto had disappeared again. Sasuke scowled angrily as he searched his closet for appropriate clothes. They were meeting Sakura's parents for dinner in half an hour.

Maybe she had dragged Naruto away again to inflict another lesson about manners on him... But wouldn't they have warned him? In any case, if the idiot made them late, he would -- no, he probably wouldn't do anything too permanent. He didn't want to go there anymore than Naruto did.

Eventually he chose a relatively nice, white button-up shirt which he had worn maybe twice before. He would have worn a yukata and hakama if it had been a meeting with his family -- but he didn't own any kind of kimono, ceremonial or not; besides, Sakura's parents were from a common family, not a noble clan. They probably weren't that traditional. He debated about the lack of clan symbol on that shirt, but all the tops he owned that bore the Uchiha fan were high-collared t-shirts or tanktops -- way too casual. Besides, he was going as himself -- or should he remind them about his heritage? Would that be a good thing, give him more weight? Argh. There wasn't much of a choice. It wasn't as if he could wear a tanktop, Uchiha fan or not, and even if he could somehow stitch or dye a fan on his white shirt, it would probably look weird and out of place. God, he hated having to choose clothes. There was a reason he usually bought everything in bulk; much easier to stick with the kind he already knew he looked okay in and which moved well.

"Wow, you're worse than a girl," Naruto commented from the doorway as he eyed the clothes littered all over the room, and barely dodged a kunai.

"Where the fuck were you?" Sasuke snarled at him, pretending that he hadn't actually been startled.

"Out. Listen..." Naruto seemed to search for words; then he grimaced and pushed something in Sasuke's hands. "Here."

Sasuke stared at the little black box, confused. "What the hell is that?"

"It's for Sakura. From you."

Sasuke looked up, even more confused. Naruto's jaw was set in a stubborn line, as if he expected a fight.

"From me? The hell?"

"I took most of the money from your stash, so technically it's yours. And it's for you to give her. 'Cause... Her parents -- well."

Sasuke was going to be angry at Naruto for looking through his apartment, but the mention of the Harunos confused him enough to pause. And then it snapped into place. He opened the box quickly --

"...A ring."

"Yeah. Think it will do for an engagement ring? Didn't have the money to get her a fancy one..."

It was a simple thing, three flat, interlaced metal bands. Pink, yellow, and silver. "It's gold?"

"Uh, dunno, it's supposed to be, but it might be alloys. Told you I didn't have much money. But I figure you can get more money from the bank and get her a proper one later. This one's mostly so her parents don't think... Well. You see. But it's also to make her happy. I figure you can do with some pointers," Naruto added with a strange grin.

Sasuke wondered why it was suddenly hitting him so hard that it was real, that in a few months, at the very most, he was going to marry Sakura; that she was going to be his wife and he'd live his life with her -- and that Naruto loved her. Loved her so much -- loved him, too -- that he would --

"Give it to her yourself."

Naruto gaped, and then glared at him in frustration. "What? No way! I'm not her fiance, YOU are! YOU give her the stupid ring."

"You bought it, you give it!"

"It was your money!"

"So take money out of your next pay and pay me back!"

"No fucking way in hell. You're her fiance, so you have to have a ring. I'm your -- I got it for you. You gotta give it to her."

"My boyfriend."

"...What?"

"My boyfriend. Our boyfriend. Our lover. Say it."

Naruto stared at him for a second; Sasuke refused to stop glaring at him. The blond hesitated, tongue flicking out to lick his lips nervously, then smiled.

"Alright. I'm your ... boyfriend -- man, that sounds gay," he laughed, and dodged a punch from Sasuke. "So I got it for you. For the two of you. Because you've been all hissy at each other recently, and I really don't like it. It's not natural! So please, just take it and smooth things out, alright?"

Sasuke considered it. "No."

"Oi! Don't make me make you sleep on the couch!"

"You're already sleeping on the couch."

"I'll take the sex away!"

"We're not even having sex!"

"Yeah, well, we should -- why aren't we again?"

"Sakura's never around."

The mention of her name sobered them up.

"Oh, right. You know, if you give her the ring, she'll be so happy, her dad and mom will shove her in our arms with their blessings, and then we can move in together and have tons and tons of sex."

Yeah, right. They'd give their blessings to Sasuke, maybe, but not to Naruto. Especially if Sakura was persuaded that the ring only came from Sasuke.

"Drop it," he commanded coldly, shoving the box back at Naruto. "Give it to her yourself."

The pleading puppy eyes flashed purplish-red and dangerous for a second; Sasuke braced himself, but the only thing that came was a long, frustrated wail.

"No, alright? No! We're trying to make her happy with you, and it's not gonna help if I thought of that stuff first and she thinks you didn't even remember. Alright? It's really not gonna help. So if you'll just pretend you bought it for her, she'll be happy, and you won't have to be grouchy all the time, and that will make me tons happier. Everyone wins."

Sasuke glared at him in disbelief. "It's going to make her happy because she'll think I magically turned into some thoughtful, sensitive, romantic guy, and then she'll expect it to continue! Yeah, she'll be happy, but about what? A lie! And what's that shit about happy 'with me'? Like you won't be there!"

Naruto flinched, then growled in irritation, and clenched his fists briefly before raking both hands through his hair. "Yeah, right, we're in this together. I remember. But -- listen. We're partners, right? We're helping each other out. You give her the ring, smooth things out for now, and later -- well, I'm sure I'll mess up, too! So whenever either of us sees the other acting like an ass, we tell each other! We spot for each other. Eventually we'll get better, and then it won't be -- she won't be expecting things that aren't here, because they'll be here. We'll be... kinda trained for it."

Sasuke stared at the box, which had somehow ended up in his hands again, then scoffed, muttering, "Trained. In being sensitive. Hah."

Naruto grimaced. "Well, it sure isn't coming naturally," he grumbled, then shrugged it off. "Besides, I'm not expecting miracles, and I'm sure she isn't, either. You wouldn't be Sasuke if you weren't an asshole. I'm pretty sure they put your face beside the word 'utter bastard' in the dictionary."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Sasuke shrugged, making a face. "That's two words. Moron."

Naruto started snickering. "You prick."

"I thought you liked it."

No, he decided as he watched Naruto crack up, Sasuke was definitely not smirking. Even less smiling. Not even a little bit.

"Come on, dead last, we're going to be late."

The blond gaped at his clock, and surged forward without warning. "Oh crap! We're already late!" Naruto yelped as he grabbed Sasuke's wrist and dragged him outside.

"Wait -- let me lock the door!" Sasuke pulled free with annoyance, securing his apartment quickly, and then started running after Naruto, who was all but dancing in impatience on the railing. "What the hell do you mean, late?" Sasuke demanded as they jumped over to the nearest tree and skidded down the trunk to the footbridge. "We have fifteen minutes!"

"Yeah, and we have to --" Naruto leaped over a toddler, vaulting over the edge of the bridge -- "pick up Sakura-- " they raced each other up a wall, landing on a tiled roof --"and you have to give her the ring --" they broke their straight run to dodge around another ninja who had just emerged from a window-- "and it's not gonna be done in three seconds!" Cat, fuck! Another quick dodge, grabbing a pole to fling themselves further away-- "And we can't arrive at her parents' like we just ran through the village!"

"Since when are you Mister Ideal Boyfriend anyway?" Sasuke snapped back as he leaped over a street.

"I just asked IrukACK!"

A green and pink blur had just burst out of a nearby greenhouse and clothes-lined Naruto. Sasuke instinctively fell into a fighting stance --

"You're LATE!"

"... Sakura?"

She was holding Naruto up against her hip, with the boy hanging from her arm around his neck. "You're late! How could you be that late? I told you two to be here early so I could fix your clothes -- Sasuke-kun, your hair!"

Blinking, he touched his hair automatically. It felt like it always did. "What?"

"It looks like a bird's nest, didn't you even comb it?" she replied, half angry and half panicked, as she grabbed his wrist, Naruto's collar, and hauled them toward the opened window in the roof of the greenhouse. "IINOO! Get me a brush!"

The blonde girl put her basket of flowers and her pruning shears down on a bench, and hurried off, but not quickly enough to hide her snickers. "Yes, sir, Sakura, sir!" she mocked before disappearing behind a large hanging plant.

Sasuke landed awkwardly; she still hadn't let go of his wrist. At least she hadn't dragged Naruto through the window with them; he was still teetering precariously on the ledge, but it was better than diving into the potted plants head first.

"Naruto, get down here, and don't get dirty!" Sakura ordered, before starting to tug on Sasuke's shirt and smooth the wrinkles out.

Naruto grabbed the edge and rolled forward, swinging for a second before he landed between two racks bearing small potted flowers. He almost collided with Ino, who was emerging from her house at the same time.

"Huh, you need some help with your hair, too. Don't move."

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a long-suffering look through the rack as Ino attacked Naruto's hair with gel, mirroring Sakura's fussing with Sasuke's clothes.

"Hurry up, Ino-pig, I need it too!" Sakura demanded as she finished a last, observational circle around Sasuke. Ino reached through the rack at his side, gave the pot to Sakura, then dropped her hand -- Sasuke jerked in shock, and turned to stare at Ino. Had she just _groped_ him?

"Ino-pig!"

"Oi!"

The girl burst out laughing. "Oh, come on, that's like the only time in my life when I'll ever have the occasion. Once you take him home and tag him 'fiance', I'll be forbidden."

"You're forbidden now!" Sakura growled. Sasuke blinked, dazed, and stared at her back. The fuck. When had Sakura grabbed him to pull him behind her protectively?

"Yeah, tagged or not, that ass is already owned," Naruto chorused, scowling. Or pouting. It was hard to say. Either way, Sasuke was surprised; Sakura had always been possessive of him, even when she hadn't had the right, but Naruto...

"Aw, don't be jealous," Ino replied in a devious tone as she turned to face Naruto again, and reached around him to give his butt a good squeeze.

"GACK!"

"INO!"

" _HEY_."

"What's going on here?" demanded a male voice from the other side of the wall. Sasuke flushed a little and looked away, pretending that he hadn't been bristling at Ino.

"Nothing, Dad!" "Nothing, Yamanaka-san!" the two girls chorused in an utterly unbelievable, innocent tone.

Ino abandoned Naruto to rush to the connecting door and shoo her father away before he could step inside the glasshouse. Naruto took the occasion to hurry around the rack and join Sakura and Sasuke, spooked.

"Sakura-chan, I'm not pure for you anymore..." he whimpered, hands held over his ass protectively.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the theatrics.

Sakura managed a strangled chuckle before her stressed out expression slammed back into place. "Let me see -- that's a nice shirt, Naruto," she commented quickly as she turned him here and there, giving him the same treatment Sasuke had received. Naruto looked like he didn't know whether to protest, or to enjoy the way her hands flitted all over him.

"There. Done. Your hair... Well, at least Ino-pig can do that much," she muttered ungratefully.

"You didn't check my pants," Naruto commented mournfully, eyes gleaming with impish delight.

"Wh -- your pants are fine..." Sakura trailed off and eyed him worriedly as he turned around, checking for a tear or a smear of dirt.

"No, see, they're tainted by her touch -- here!"

Sasuke watched her stare at Naruto's ass for a few seconds before she understood. "You -- NARUTO!"

"Aw, come on!"

"Pinch him," Sasuke advised grumpily, and turned away from them to go to the connecting door. Ino had managed to chase her father off and was coming back; he put a hand on her shoulder and nudged her back out.

"But -- hey," she protested, confused.

He scowled briefly at her, then reminded himself that they were in her house and he had to be polite. At least a little bit. "...Ino, we need five minutes in private. Alright?"

She pouted, then glanced over at Naruto and Sakura, who were still squabbling, and shrugged. "Alright, alright. But--"

"And don't listen at the door, either," he ordered before closing the door under her nose.

After a moment of thought, he herded Naruto and Sakura to the other end of the greenhouse, just in case. Sakura was staring at him, confused. "Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, but the idiot was no help, blinking at him innocently, as if he didn't have a clue what it was about.

"Uh. Here." He pressed the little box into her hands, and then crossed his arms, turning his face away so that he didn't have to look at her directly.

Naruto was watching her surprise, and her delight, with an open expression of -- Sasuke didn't know. It was a smile, but a little... Sad? Melancholy? But ... glad, too. Sasuke clenched his jaws, cursing the soft-hearted idiot. Sakura was still staring rapturously at the contents of the box; she didn't notice.

She looked up, staring at him with adoring eyes; Naruto was watching the both of them and smiling, and Sasuke wasn't too sure why he wanted to describe it as "from afar" when the blond standing even closer to Sakura than he was.

"From both of us."

"Oh!"

He tensed, watching her closely for disappointment, but all he could see was surprise as she turned to look at Naruto. The blond looked mildly panicked, and glared at Sasuke quickly.

"Is that -- really?"

"Well, uh, yeah. Is it -- d'you like it?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Oh -- yes!" she beamed at Naruto, then at him, her eyes suspiciously shiny. "It's so symbolic -- like the three of us. I love it."

"... It's not very fancy," Naruto muttered, though he was looking pleased in spite of himself.

Sasuke allowed himself a little smirk. "Diamonds would have cost a bit more than what we can afford at the moment," he commented casually. Naruto was half-right -- it was better if she assumed that it was from the two of them. And it was -- or it would have been if Naruto had asked him first. But he was going to pay the moron back if it was the last thing he did.

"Oh, it's alright!" she babbled, beaming. "Diamonds are too shiny and bulky anyway; I would have to leave it behind on missions for fear of snagging it on things or blinding our targets, or something."

"This one is still shiny," Sasuke retorted.

"Yes, but only because it's so new. Besides, I can put it on a chain -- it's perfect, really!"

She was holding it tight against her chest, as if afraid that Sasuke was going to take it back.

"... So you don't wanna put it on?" Naruto asked, pretending -- badly -- that he wasn't nervous.

"Oh! Of course, I was just -- um. It's really pretty," she whispered as she pulled it out of the box.

Personally, Sasuke thought that it was a little too plain for her -- but perhaps he could get her a fancy chain to compensate, later.

She looked at him, then at Naruto, and then grinned shyly, bowed her head, and slipped it on; the way she was doing it -- slow and deliberate -- it was like a ceremony. Heavy with meaning. "I would have asked one of you -- but we don't have the time to discuss who gets to do it," she commented with a high-pitched giggle. "And the logistics for the two of you to do it together... Okay, we should get going."

Sasuke wondered briefly if she knew what he and Naruto had argued about earlier; or if she had just guessed that Naruto was probably a lot more responsible for it than he was, and just didn't want a confirmation that might only hurt most parties involved.

Just a little gesture. It would make her happy. It would make Naruto happy. Having them happy would make him -- less annoyed.

Just a little gesture. He could do that. He reached out casually and slipped his fingers in her hand, resting them against her palm in a loose hold. The ring was still cold. "Yeah, let's go."

She looked so stunned that it hurt; he looked away, and only looked back up when Naruto snickered and gave him a 'aww, soo cute' grin. He sneered at the blond, tugged Sakura toward the exit. She tightened her hold, finally, following him -- for about two steps. Then she held him back, and he finally looked back at her, confused.

She was still grinning, embarrassed, but not enough to hide the glowing. "Sasuke-kun, wait..."

"... yeah?"

She hesitated, then her smile became amused. "You didn't think you were going to escape with your hair like that, did you? Come here, let me smooth it down..."

He'd look like he had a ponytail. "No way."

"Sasuke..."

"No. Way. Give me that." He snatched the hair gel from Naruto's hand -- open already; he didn't have to let go of her -- and quickly combed a few dollops through his locks, flattening rebellious spikes. There, that should be enough. Then he put the pot down on a rack, snagged Naruto's arm and pulled them both toward the exit. Stupid idiots had nothing better to do than watch him with those stupid eyes as he combed his stupid hair -- he would have felt less naked if he had actually been naked. What was next, watching him floss his teeth? No, seriously.

"Come on, let's go. How long do we have left?"

"We -- oh no! Two minutes! We'll never get here on time!" Naruto yelped, panicked.

Sakura winced, and then smiled and cutely stuck out her tongue. "Ah -- I lied about the time to make sure we'd have a margin. There's about fifteen minutes left."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even with Ino stopping them to shove a bouquet of flowers in Naruto's arms, "For Sakura's mom", they arrived with five minutes to spare; a few of them were wasted with Sakura lecturing and fussing a little more at him and Naruto.

Sasuke would have been fine without the lecture, but Naruto had to be a nervous, bouncing ball of nerves, and that meant Sasuke got in trouble for hitting him over the head and "messing up his hair". Naruto's hair was about as safe from that as Sasuke's; he privately thought that even with the hair gel, they only looked like slightly more solid, shiny versions of their everyday looks. But if Sakura wanted to believe that made them more presentable... bah.

Of course the door opened when she was in the middle of a tirade with both hands tugging Sasuke's hair while Naruto snickered behind them.

"Hahaha -- um."

"...Ah!"

"Good evening, Haruno-san."

At first, Sasuke thought that the man at the door was Sakura's grandfather. Silvery white hair, thick glasses, leaning heavily on a walking stick...

"Daddy!" Sakura exclaimed as she pecked him quickly on the cheek.

Ah.

"Hey, ol--"

Sasuke stepped on Naruto's foot before he could say anything intelligible, and bowed politely. "Good evening, Haruno-san."

"Uh -- good evening, sir," Naruto chorused quickly. Sasuke wondered how long he was going to remember to use "sir" and not "old man".

"Uchiha-san, Uzumaki-san." Sakura's father nodded a greeting at them both, and stepped away from the door to let them walk in.

Following Sakura's lead, they took off their shoes and stashed them in a corner before putting on slippers, and then stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. Naruto was fidgeting with the flowers, as if unsure what to do with them. Sasuke hoped that the manners Sakura had crammed into his head over the last week included what to do with flowers. If he gave them to her father...

"Where's mom?" Sakura asked, apparently following the same line of thought.

"In the kitchen. You should go call her, Sakura. Young men, if you will follow me..."

He turned away, and with a quick look at each other, they separated; Sakura disappeared through a side-door as the boys followed her father. Sasuke elbowed Naruto, who was looking around openly. No manners, seriously.

It was a nice house, all things considered. A little small, and with lots of highly polished furniture, which made navigating a bit of an obstacles course. The living room had knickknacks here and there, a few paintings, and many, many pictures of Sakura's family. Sasuke watched the man as he sat down cautiously, and moved to take a seat when he gestured toward the couch. Naruto didn't notice; he was busy peering at stuff.

"Hey, is that Sakura-chan?" he asked suddenly, grinning widely.

Sasuke's eyelid twitched. He was so nosy --

"Look, Sasuke. She looks so squishy. Is that a bunny jumper?"

Sasuke tensed, but to his immense relief, the old man chose to smile indulgently. "Yes, that's Sakura at two."

"Hah! Knew it. I'd recognize that hair anywhere." Naruto flashed another grin at Haruno-san, and then turned to look at the picture again, where a pink-haired toddler sprawled on her belly, playing with her toys. "She was so cute."

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped, mortified, as she stopped in the doorway.

"What? you were cute as a kid!"

Sakura gave Naruto a dark glare, and then looked at her father, who was sitting calmly in his armchair, both hands on his cane. "Dad, why did you leave my baby pictures out?"

Finally, Sasuke decided, Haruno-san was far, far from being as stern and unbending as he seemed at first glance, if one judged by his casual, innocent, "Hm?"

"Oh, honestly..." she grumped, hands on her hips.

Sasuke got up quickly, bowing in greeting to the woman -- forty-something, green eyes, graying blood-red hair -- who was standing behind Sakura.

"Hello, Haruno-san," he added, more for Naruto's benefit than his own. The blond turned around quickly, giving the woman a sheepish grin and an awkward bow modeled after Sasuke's. If one judged by her wary, unimpressed look, Naruto wasn't going to win her over that easily.

Her back to her mother, Sakura flashed a hand signal at Naruto, who blinked in confusion before connecting it with the situation. "Ah -- these are for you."

The woman stared at him, and then down at the flowers, as if she expected to see a muddy clump of insect-ridden wildflowers instead of the very professionally made bouquet. "... Sakura, go and fetch a vase, please."

Well, at least she ended up taking them, Sasuke thought with some desperation. And Sakura's father was looking quite amused.

"Dinner will be a few minutes," the woman added with some reluctance, giving Sasuke a long measuring look, too.

... She didn't look much happier with him than she did with Naruto. Damn it. From what Sakura said -- and didn't say -- he'd thought that she would approve of him a little more. Maybe she was just cranky.

Sakura came back, putting the vase on the table, and spent some time helping her mother to arrange it. Naruto drifted to the couch and sat down at Sasuke's side, looking uncomfortable once again.

"You were looking at these, I believe, Uzumaki-san?" the white-haired man asked softly, reaching to pick up a frame filled with family pictures.

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto leaned forward, glancing back at Sasuke. "Come on, take a look, it's kinda funny."

Sighing quietly, Sasuke obligingly leaned forward to look, too. There were a few baby pictures -- a picture of a three-year old Sakura with another tiny redhead who was probably family, a five-year old Sakura with a very serious frown as she read a book, and then a few more pictures of her receiving school awards, and a couple of shots from the ceremony of acceptance into the ninja academy.

He thought he saw himself in the background of one of them -- he'd been so happy to see that his father had actually decided to attend that he had been fighting a grin from the start of the ceremony to the end; maybe that was why Sakura hadn't recognized him. He didn't call attention to it.

"Wow, all those books."

"Yes, our daughter has always been smart," Sakura's mother interjected. "She learned to read at five, and she always was top of her class. If she had chosen a civilian school, she would probably be well on her way to a doctorate."

This, Sasuke thought, meant "my baby's way too smart for you", and was only confirmed when she asked, "where do you think you would be now, if you weren't ninjas?"

Naruto shrugged, apparently not even noticing her tone. "Eh, I don't know. Cooking ramen, maybe?" he suggested with a grin.

Sakura groaned, and then chuckled politely to cover it. "You and your ramen. Bah, this shouldn't surprise me; it would fit you well actually. And you, Sasuke-kun?"

"I never planned on being anything but a ninja."

"Hey, no fair," Naruto protested. "I never planned on that, either. If I have to think about it, you do, too."

"Fine," Sasuke grumbled. "A policeman, maybe."

"Bleh. All the Konoha cops go through the ninja academy first. You cheat."

Sakura giggled. "It's hard to imagine Sasuke-kun as anything else."

"You have never given any thought to whatever else you could have done with your life?" her mother asked them both, frowning sternly.

Naruto shrugged. "Uh. Not really, no. It's always been my dream. And Sasuke -- would they have let you become anything else?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Why would he have wanted to go against the clan tradition when he was so well-suited to it and liked it so much? "I could have become a scholar, if I had been so inclined. I wasn't."

"So there is no life beyond being a ninja for either of you," the woman commented, frowning more heavily. Sakura cringed.

"Mom..."

"Sakura, you didn't even know what their fall-back plans were? You, of all people, should know better--"

"Hana," the father interrupted her softly. "Hana, they are seventeen."

"You were seventeen!"

"And I still spent a few months looking for my way. And eventually found it. I am sure they would prove just as adaptable, if the need arose."

Naruto was busy staring at his feet. Sasuke knew this because it was more interesting to watch the blond from the corner of his eye than look straight at either of Sakura's parents; he didn't want to be forced to acknowledge the tension openly.

"...What's that smell?" Sakura commented, and moved to get up. Her mother waved her down, and hurried back to the kitchen without a word. Sakura sat back again with a quiet sigh, and when Sasuke looked up at her, she gave him one of the most unconvincing smiles he'd ever had aimed at him.

"... Hope the dinner doesn't burn," Naruto mumbled, and scratched his neck, grinning guiltily.

"My wife would never allow a dinner to burn," the man reassured him gently. "I must apologize. She worries."

"There's no need," Sasuke replied formally. "It is only natural for a parent to be concerned."

The man nodded in acknowledgement. "Indeed. And I wouldn't want to force either of you to think about unsavory possibilities, but it is better to be prepared. The life of a ninja is a dangerous one; as my wife has always been a civilian, she has trouble accepting how totally one could invest themselves into it."

Sasuke and Naruto nodded.

"You're not a civilian, ol -- sir?"

Sakura discreetly threatened Naruto with her fist for almost using "old man" again.

"Now I am," he replied easily, "but I went through the academy when I was younger."

Naruto grinned, presumably happy at finding common ground. "Oh, really? Were you strong?"

Haruno-san gave Naruto a dry, amused look. "I made Genin at fifteen. My crowning glory was getting flattened by a ten-year-old -- who, granted, would become the Fourth Hokage -- in under thirty seconds during my third attempt at Chuunin. A few months later, I lost the use of my leg and quit."

"...Oh."

Sasuke had better sense than to voice his reaction, however similar it was to Naruto's. That was... really mediocre. Even Naruto had graduated at twelve. Though -- he had expected something like that. High-level ninjas were usually from clans -- and they also rarely lived past thirty-five, unless they retired first.

At least the man didn't look insulted. "I met Hana during my rehabilitation. This is why she worries so much about this issue. However ill-suited I was for it, being a ninja was my dream as a teenager. Finding another way to make a living was... rather problematic at first. She doesn't want something like that to happen to any of you," he added diplomatically.

Sasuke privately thought that it was unlikely that the three of them would just happen to get incapacitated at the same time. Moreover, it was a lot safer financially to have two working adults and an unemployed one, than a couple where only one of the two was able to bring food to the table. Besides, Sakura's father sucked at being a ninja. They didn't.

"You're right, we gotta think of stuff like that," Naruto replied, frowning very seriously. It was a rather comical effect, really. Sasuke snorted softly. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. "You're just jealous 'cause I'd be a better civilian than you."

Sasuke only stopped himself from snarking back that it was nothing to be proud of because Sakura's mother chose this moment to walk in and announce that dinner was ready.

The seating arrangement was... Hmm. Each parent at one end, with Sakura on one side, and Naruto and himself safely away on the other side. Maybe the Harunos were afraid the young men would grope Sakura under the table or something.

As if the table was too wide to prevent playing footsie, if they had been so inclined.

They exchanged some small talk during the entree. Weather, food. Sakura's mother seemed to relax a little, even unbending so far as to reply civilly to Naruto a couple of times, and her father didn't make Sasuke feel as if every little twitch was taken in and analyzed.

Then the conversation somehow shifted onto the flowers Naruto had brought -- he didn't mention that they had been Ino's sole responsibility, but admitting that he didn't have a clue how to choose them without help made the Harunos chuckle softly; private joke? The mood was getting better at least -- and then onto the Yamanakas. A nice family, yes, and more grounded in the civilian life than many, and, oh, would Sakura still be found there if her parents happened to be in the neighborhood?

Well. At least she could have asked that more bluntly. Sasuke decided that she probably didn't want things to get ugly -- yet -- or else she would have asked point-blank if they would be shacking up soon.

"Yes, mom, I'm still there. And going to be there a while, I think. We don't have the kind of income needed to get our own place yet."

"Hmm. Where do you young men live?" her father asked, turning to look at Naruto and him.

Sasuke shrugged. "We're sharing my apartment for now. It isn't a place to raise a child, though; it's only a small bachelor pad."

Hana closed her eyes briefly; her husband gazed down at the table, expressionless. Sasuke wondered what he had said, and then realized that none of them had even mentioned the word "child" or "baby" before; the whole reason why they were entering this weird relationship in the first place.

"Yeah, it's so tiny, there isn't even place for a second futon! I have to sleep on his couch and it really bl--OW." Naruto paled briefly at Sakura's murderous glare, and then grinned sheepishly. "I mean, it's really not comfortable."

"But have you started looking around, at least, to get an idea of the prices?"

"Um, not really, Mom. We've been kind of busy..."

Hana stared at her daughter. "What do you mean you've been busy? Isn't it important enough?"

"We had more urgent things to worry about," Sasuke intervened in a tone that implied the things in question were classified. "There's still time."

Hana didn't take the hint, or if she did, it only aggravated her. "More urgent! Like what? You haven't left Konoha once last month. What could be more important than having a good roof over your heads?"

Naruto blinked, bewildered. "It's not as if Sasuke's roof is leaking--"

Sasuke and Sakura kicked him at the same time, and only narrowly missed each other.

"It is good," her father commented mildly, "that you aren't demanding. But you will have to raise your standards. Children, especially young children, deserve the best their parents can get them, not merely the least they want to bother with."

Naruto stammered, "Ah -- it wasn't -- I didn't mean..."

"He is right. The baby needs the best you can possibly give. So what, exactly, could be more urgent?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto quickly, and wondered if he, too, had understood that Sakura still hadn't told her parents exactly how dangerous the pregnancy was. But with the bewildered way he was looking between Sakura and her mother...

"The Chuunin exam," Sasuke interrupted coolly.

"You are planning on taking it?" Hana asked, bewildered.

"Yes, of course. If we don't, we'll have to wait until the baby is at least a few years old."

"But it's dangerous!" she protested.

"We got through it safely last time," Naruto intervened. "And we're loads better this time around."

Hana gave him a look that said he was missing the point by about ten miles. "But she's pregnant."

Naruto blinked. "It's only three months away -- she won't be that fat just yet, right?"

Sakura groaned. "Call me fat again and you'll end up wearing your food."

"It's not like it's a bad fat -- ick."

"Stop. Talking. Now."

Sasuke would have rolled his eyes, but he was caught by surprise by her mother's expression. Half "ah, stupid boys" annoyance, a familiar sight on her daughter's face, and half... reluctant amusement? Was she defrosting at last?

"It's still not very safe... Couldn't you wait until afterwards?"

"Mom, we already talked about this... I'll take months to get back into shape, we'll waste even longer."

"Waste -- is this a race?" Hana frowned, sternly.

"Well, all our friends are already Chuunin and all," Naruto replied, grimacing.

Sasuke frowned. The reminder grated. Still Genin at seventeen, that was pitiful.

"It doesn't mean we suck as ninjas -- they still give us C and B rank missions, they just pay us on the Genin scale -- but there was never a good time to pass the exam. Everyone was 'oh, maybe next year' and everything. It wasn't so bad because, yeah, we weren't going anywhere and we didn't need the money so bad; there was no reason to insist, but now that we're -- I mean, with the baby..." Naruto stole a glance at Sakura, who nodded encouragingly. "Being Chuunin means that we get paid more for the same stuff. And we're gonna need the money, just like you said, old man. Not next year, when Sasuke's stash will be empty from paying for the marriage and Sakura will be all tired and getting back into shape and the baby will be there already, but now, soon. So that's why," he finished, nodding determinedly, "we gotta make Chuunin."

Sasuke observed the Harunos as they exchanged long, thoughtful looks. Sakura was watching Naruto with faint surprise; and when the blond glanced back at her, vaguely nervous, she smiled.

"Naruto-san?" her father said softly.

Sasuke blinked. He'd addressed them by their family names before.

"My name is Yukihiro, not 'old man'," he finished, face crinkling as he smiled at the blond.

Naruto stared at him for a few seconds, confused, and then slowly started grinning. "All right, sorry... Yukihiro-san?"

Sakura's mother huffed, but didn't comment. Naruto was beaming as if -- Sasuke looked away.

As if he'd been given... things that Sasuke didn't want to think about -- love and acceptance, things that shouldn't have been so novel to him; if Sasuke thought about it too much it would make him -- angry, yes, and he had his own share of problems to rage at.

As if he'd been given all that and didn't care who knew. How could he let his happiness spill on his face like that? He was leaving himself wide open; it would be so easy to hurt him with a few words, and what was worse, that hurt would show, too. How could he stand to leave his feelings unprotected?

Frowning, Sasuke gave Sakura's mother a look, ready to alienate her forever by giving her the death-glare from hell if she even looked like she was considering taking a jab -- and found her picking at her plate, trying to hide a mildly conscience-stricken look.

... Well, he thought. Well. So maybe she wasn't entirely evil. It left him rather at a loss, though; he couldn't heal, but he could protect... but it seemed that Naruto and his wide-open heart didn't need his protection. And if he didn't have anything else to think about, he was going to start mulling over the reason why such a simple thing could affect the idiot so much, and he really, really didn't want to.

"Are you done, Uchiha-san?" Hana asked briskly, startling him. "Sakura? Everyone? I'll bring the next course."

She disappeared in the kitchen. More small talk ensued; Sasuke participated here and there as they ate, though he would have been at a loss to repeat exactly what he said later on.

They were almost done with dessert when Hana asked, politely, about Sakura's ring. Sasuke stiffened; it sounded like a loaded question. At least Sakura seemed delighted to show it off...

"And who...?" Hana asked, trailing off when she apparently couldn't find a polite way to ask.

Bingo.

"It was from both of us," Sasuke replied quietly.

"But I thought you were the one marrying her? That's a done decision, right?"

"I am."

"So if you are the one marrying her, why weren't you the one buying her this ring?"

 _'Because I forgot.'_ Yeah, that would go well.

"She can't get engaged to both of you."

"That's exactly why," he replied; still making sure to keep his voice quiet, because he knew that otherwise it would sound haughty. It was almost painful how she just didn't get it.

Sakura closed her eyes briefly. Naruto's hand was clenched on his lap.

"Legally, it isn't possible to marry two people, however much one might want to. We had to choose, rationally, which one of us would be best received as a husband."

But in the end, he thought, so hard that he wasn't sure how they didn't hear, in the end it was just a piece of paper. The noble and ancient institution of marriage -- it didn't mean anything to him. What Sakura meant to him -- that wouldn't change because she would gain a new society-approved title. And what Naruto meant to him... there would never be enough words for it, and maybe that was fine. It was special; it was his own. He didn't want to fit them into a mold; compress some parts, cut off some others that had the misfortune of sticking out. He liked it the way it was, the three of them hopelessly tangled together in ways that totally defied common conventions.

"But you still plan on allowing... On -- afterwards..." She paused, waving at Naruto, visibly searching for words. Sakura was tense, eyes still closed in weariness; Sasuke wondered how many times they'd had this argument in private already.

It wasn't cheating if they were all in the same bed, he thought, and fought to find a way to formulate it diplomatically. In the end, "yes" was all he could reply. She looked at him as if he'd just admitted to planning weekly orgies with whichever neighbors felt like dropping in, and got up, starting to gather the dishes. Her expression shuttered, she disappeared, once again, into the kitchen.

Naruto and Sakura were hanging their heads like a pair of kicked puppies, and her husband's face was empty of expression again.

Sasuke got up too, bowing quickly at Yukihiro before following her.

"Haruno-san."

He clenched his fists briefly as he stared at her tense shoulders; he wasn't sure what to say, he just knew that he had to say something to salvage the situation.

"We both ... have... strong feelings for her," he murmured, violently uncomfortable.

He hadn't even told them that to their faces; he didn't want to say anything to this woman. But -- if it shut her up. Maybe it would be worth it. Maybe. He couldn't care less about her feelings; but he couldn't stand the thought of making Sakura choose between her parents and her team. If his own mother -- stop. Stop. Don't think about that.

"But you'll get jealous," she whispered, frustrated, and too caught up in her own internal monologue to notice Sasuke's own distraction. "You'll get jealous and kick him out eventually -- he'll cause arguments between you and Sakura, it isn't possible to share someone you love like this..."

"No."

She stared at him as if he was speaking an alien language.

"Naruto... There was a point in my life where I could have... thrown it all away."

He felt sick; he didn't want to share that, didn't -- it was safe when it was locked away, out of his mind where he didn't have to deal with it anymore.

"My -- friends -- my team. The village. I could have -- you know about that. And he brought me back." He repeated, softly, "He brought me back. So I won't -- I will not be jealous of him. The idea is preposterous."

"You love him," she replied softly, peering at him, visibly confused.

Startled, he could only shrug, and only force of habit kept him from spluttering angrily; even under torture, he wouldn't answer that.

"... Like -- like you love Sakura?"

"No," he replied with a snort, "not at all."

She stared at him a while longer, and then relaxed. Sasuke hid away all traces of emotion; if she wanted to be relieved by her assumption that his feelings for Naruto were born out of pure, platonic gratitude, he wasn't going to say anything.

He stood in silence for a few seconds longer, and then, nodding a salute, he returned to the dining room. Three pairs of eyes stared up at him. Uncomfortable, he rolled his eyes briefly, and -- of course -- targeted Naruto. He was the most blatant anyway. "Do I have something on my face?"

Naruto glared at him, but before he could retort something loud and probably unfit for polite company -- not a wise move on Sasuke's part, to provoke him -- Sakura intervened. "Um, Sasuke-kun... did..."

"Everything's alright," he replied with a sigh, and sat down again, trying to ignore his teammates' curious looks.

Yukihiro chuckled. "So you are secretly a diplomat, I see."

Sasuke couldn't help it; he stared at the man incredulously. Half a second later, Sakura and Naruto choked on a burst of laughter. Sakura politely pretended to have been coughing, but Naruto had to press both hands to his mouth to stifle his laugher. Yukihiro had adopted a ponderous, benevolent expression that didn't entirely hide the mirth in his eyes.

"Oh yeah," Naruto snickered. "He's like... a special diplomat. An Interrogation Squad diplomat."

"Naruto, shut it before I make you."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but sobered up, lowering his voice as he glanced toward the door worriedly. "No, seriously, are you sure --"

" _Yes_. But maybe you'd like to go and make sure?" Sasuke growled, challenging the blond with a harsh glare.

"Does either of you young men drink tea?" Hana inquired briskly from the door. "Coffee?"

Naruto grinned guiltily. "Ah -- either is fine... Though--"

"Tea," Sakura intervened, giving Naruto a quick glare before he could ask for coffee, and then glanced quickly at Sasuke. "They'll both have tea."

Sasuke frowned -- he didn't want to drink anything -- but let it slide. He had a feeling anything he said at the moment would be too aggressive, and it wasn't the time or place to rip into either of his teammates. Crossing his arms, he attempted to smooth his expression. They wouldn't be expected to stay long after dinner; it was late after all. Then he'd go and lock himself in his bedroom, and if Naruto made noise he would kick him out and beat him up in the building's courtyard. They were about due for another row.

"Sakura, why don't you go and help your mother with tea?" Yukihiro suggested softly.

Sasuke tensed, looking up sharply.

"Dad--"

"Sakura, please."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke quickly. Sasuke shrugged minutely; nothing they could do. The blond grinned at Sakura in reassurance that they would survive. She sighed, giving them a quick, worried look before departing. She probably had the same thought as them; "divide and conquer." It would be easier to sound them for cracks if they weren't covering for each other... argh. It wasn't a mission, and Sakura's father wasn't Intelligence, damn it; he was barely a Genin.

"Sir?" Sasuke asked, going on the offensive.

Yukihiro huffed and leaned back in his chair. "I have no real say; Sakura is of legal age to make her own decisions. Ultimately, my opinion on your arrangement isn't all that important either. But..." He placed his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together. "There are still worries I would like to lay to rest, if you don't mind."

Sasuke considered him for a few seconds in silence, wondering why the man hadn't become a negotiator.

"Uh, sure, shoot. Wait, no! Don't shoot."

Yukihiro chuckled softly. "Don't worry. I wouldn't want to splash blood on the carpet."

Naruto gulped. Somehow that had failed to reassure him; not that it reassured Sasuke. Well, damn, the old washout wouldn't have been half-bad at Interrogation himself.

The man turned to face Naruto, expression suddenly turning grimmer. "You do realize the stress and danger Sakura, and presumably the child, will face by being with you, don't you?"

Sasuke's hand clenched spasmodically on his thigh; but he didn't have any kunai with him. At his side, Naruto had gone frozen, staring at Sakura's father in shocked betrayal. Slowly, Naruto's hand rose, hovering over his stomach.

"Because of the Kyuubi?"

"Yes."

"You think he's gonna burst out and eat them," Naruto replied, quietly. "I thought... No, nothing."

Sasuke suddenly wanted to kill the man a lot more than he'd ever wished to kill his wife.

"I find myself liking you, Naruto-san... And the Yondaime was a great man, a genius. Both Sandaime and Godaime trusted his handiwork. Who am I to doubt them?"

Naruto's head jerked up; Yukihiro looked pained.

"Fair or not, though, you are still an outcast in most circles. And if you live with Sakura, you will drag her down with you. How do you plan on taking care of that?"

Sasuke bristled. How dare he put it all on Naruto's shoulders -- Naruto goddamnit don't look like that -- don't...

"...They don't have to know," the blond finally replied with a smile that Sasuke wanted to punch off his face, never to see again. "I'd be all right with just passing as a roommate."

"You would hide it, then?"

Sasuke's blunt nails were leaving gouges into his palms. But he wasn't welcome to take part in the discussion.

Naruto scowled briefly, hands clenched in his lap. "No! I just... wouldn't mention it. Unless people ask for it and I think they have a right to know."

"People will gossip."

Naruto gave the man a stubborn glare. "The gossips can go hang for all I care."

Sasuke wondered when exactly his hand had landed on Naruto's wrist. He was probably leaving bruises by now. But the blond wasn't protesting.

"I'm not gonna be ashamed," Naruto added, glowering fiercely. "If it was just me I wouldn't care who knew. But... it's not just me, so I'll keep it quiet. People are always watching what Sasuke's doing, and Sakura-chan isn't used to being stared at like that -- like they watch him, and like they watch me... And then there's the baby... But I'm not gonna sneak in and out in the night either. I'm not."

"You better not," Sasuke managed to growl past the lump in his throat.

Yukihiro watched them in silence, then sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Well, at least you are a lot more aware of the issue than I thought you would be. And no doubt Sakura will grow more resilient with time. This does mean no public displays of affection, though..."

"Oh, come on," Sasuke snapped, at the end of his rope. "We're ninjas. If people want to spy on us looking for little signs, they'll find them. They'll probably find them more between them than with me."

"... and why is that? I thought you three were equally..."

"Because I hate being pawed at." He tossed his head impatiently, and pushed back a lock of hair that had been tickling his cheek for the past half-hour; damn Sakura's hair gel. "So they'll gossip. So what? I agree with Naruto; they can go hang, I don't give a damn. And if the baby has blond hair, it will be more than a few speculative whispers behind our backs. So? We'll deal."

"You two might be used to it," the man replied somberly, making Naruto wince guiltily.

Sasuke scoffed at them both. "You all treat Sakura as if she's made of china. She's sturdier than that; and if she was less sheltered, she might even notice. She'll mope a bit, and then she'll decide that the gossip-mongers are a bunch of brainless twits and get over it."

Yukihiro frowned faintly. "...Is that really what you think?"

Sasuke's eye twitched, but he worked on getting it under control. He shrugged, pushing the lock of hair away again. He didn't want to snap at the old man; he'd already been too blunt.

"She doesn't trust in herself; so long as we're taking front, she stands back, and lets us deal with the heavy violence. But when push comes to shove, I haven'tseen her run away yet. She won't run from that either."

Naruto stared at him, and then grinned widely. "Hee. I'm so telling her that you said that."

Sasuke didn't have the time to threaten Naruto with violence to make sure he kept quiet.

"Well, if you are sure that you can deal with this little matter appropriately, there are a few others, Uchiha-san. None of the other clans will object, or feel slighted?"

Sasuke was thrown off-track by the realization that the man was actually aware of clan politics. "...It's not like any of them can push for an alliance via arranged marriage. I can't marry anyone from a clan without endangering my bloodline."

"Mmh. I also assume that you do not wish to leave the village any longer."

That, Sasuke noted distractedly through the faint buzzing in his ears, was probably revenge for the accusation of coddling Sakura earlier. He swiftly dodged the hand that Naruto was lifting to rest on his shoulder, and realized belatedly that things were too clear and flowed together too neatly; he had slipped into the Sharingan.

"Sasuke--"

He closed his eyes briefly, shoving his feelings down, deep down below where they couldn't touch him, and reopened his eyes. Black. Better.

"I am not," he hissed, "going to abandon my family. Ever."

Naruto looked like he was about to try a desperate tackle to save Yukihiro's life. Sasuke had better control than that.

"Not even if the child is blond?"

... Sasuke had better control than that. He did. He really did. He closed his eyes again, though; just in case.

"No."

Naruto snickered weakly. "Hey, you never know, he or she could be a nine-headed redhead with the hand-wings things you got from the cursed seal."

Sasuke glared at him, and had the satisfaction of seeing him wilt. "This isn't funny."

"Ah, lighten up, okay?"

If they had been alone, it would have been his cue for a "No, not okay" and a punch in the face. Sasuke glared at Naruto, silently promising to save it for later.

"You have no sense of humor."

"Not about my family, no," he growled back.

Sasuke stared hard at Naruto for a moment longer, until the idiot stopped muttering, and then turned to face Yukihiro. "Do you have any more... concerns?" If he had any, he could stuff them up his ass.

Yukihiro was still cutting him open with his eyes, still calm and poised and neutral enough to make Sasuke snarl. "Mmh. You seem to have decided to do your best as a husband and father. I wish you and your clan the best, Uchiha-sama."

The man even added a deliberate respectful nod.

Sasuke was suddenly past caring, though.

He was going to have a clan again.

He was going to have a clan again, and he had nowhere to house it, nothing to feed it with, and he was still too weak to protect it.

And Itachi was still out here.

Itachi was still out here, and if he didn't know yet about the child, he probably would soon.

... and then what? What would happen? What could Sasuke do? He'd grown stronger, yes; but so had his brother, more than probably. And Sasuke was still locked inside Konoha until further notice -- until they trusted him again.

He needed more fights, more experience -- badly. He needed more money -- the pay scale of a Genin wouldn't work anymore. He needed to corner Kakashi and force more techniques out of him. Kakashi and -- who else would teach him? Orochimaru was dead, and most other Jounin...

"Sasuke? Here's your tea," Sakura offered quietly. She didn't meet his eyes; he wondered what his expression looked like -- how long she and her mother had been listening in. The woman was serving Naruto, neutral -- but when Naruto offered a little smile and his thanks, Sasuke caught Hana's lips quirking up weakly in response.

He hadn't even heard them come back.

But Itachi...

No. Not now. Now was the time to listen to more small talk, and even -- sort of, cautiously -- to participate. A little. Now was the time to hum and nod, leaning over pictures of another family.

Now was not the time to think about his brother, leaning over a crib.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He walked alongside his teammates for two blocks, and then let them continue on. He said he didn't want to be groped by Ino again; they heard, "I want to be alone," and let him go.

He ignored the worry in their eyes. He couldn't take it now; he had a mission.

The solution was so evident now; and if he hadn't been trying to pretend that it didn't exist...

Well. One problem. One. But that was alright. One thing at a time.

One thing. Meaning, not the dinner. The dinner had gone fine.

... It had gone, at least. It had been... edible. Sakura's mother cooked well.

_"How do you plan on supporting your family?"_

She could have been in a better mood, though it hadn't ended too badly. Sakura's father --

Sasuke slipped into the shadows and put on a burst of speed. Faster than the eye could see -- he probably didn't have a tail, but you never knew.

Sakura's father had been polite, formal -- visibly trying to accept, for Sakura's sake, her desire to live with two men. Even if he didn't get it.

Her mother quite visibly resented Naruto for existing, and Sasuke for allowing Naruto to push himself into what would have been a perfect match and turning it into something her daughter was going to be scorned about -- something dirty, perverted.

Sakura might want Sasuke, but she would never be happy if she caught him for herself; he didn't have it in him to make anyone happy. No one understood how much they needed Naruto to be there, how essential he was; how without him Sasuke would just make Sakura miserable, and Sakura would just take it and keep hoping for something he couldn't give.

_"Where are you planning on living?"_

Together. They planned on living together; that was the most important thing. "Where" didn't matter so much.

Besides, Naruto was right; soon they'd be Chuunins. More money, better places.

_"What if you don't all make Chuunin?"_

They'd make do; they'd try again next time. It wouldn't be forever.

It hadn't convinced Yukihiro any more than it convinced Sasuke. The man hadn't needed to say anything for Sasuke to hear; "this is not good enough."

Sasuke vaulted over a fence, leaped to the closest tree -- ran up the trunk, kicking off when gravity started calling him back; landed in a crouch on moonlit tiles, and looked down at the wall sprawling along the next avenue.

On the surface, the dinner had gone ... not alright, but okay -- no huge, irreconcilable arguments, no yelled insults, no "It's them or us!" Even with Sakura being nervous and doing her best -- too much -- to smooth everything out, Naruto being way too friendly and grinning too often -- also nervous -- and Sasuke himself falling back on perfect manners that made it look, if he read Sakura's mother right, like he was looking down on them as being too low-class.

...Okay, so it had been something of a low-scale, stealth disaster.

That was in the past now. The present...

He dropped down the side of the house, walked down to the gate, reached up to tear off the yellow police tape. And walked inside, letting it flutter to the ground behind him.

The worst part was that nothing had changed at all. Everything was exactly as it had been that night -- except from the blinding absence of the corpses and the puddles of blood, but he could remember them so well that it didn't make much of a difference.

There was more dust, true, and grass was poking through the pavement, but ... But. No one had closed this half-open door, no one had righted that overturned display -- not even him, the one who could have. Should have.

Hadn't.

But -- later. Not right now. Right now, he couldn't. If he allowed himself to get sidetracked now, he would never reach his goal.

The sound of his steps rang between the houses. He refused to hurry up; hearing the echo of his run down these empty streets was asking for a flashback.

He pushed away the aching familiarity, tried to see the district as critically as possible. Left without upkeep for so many years, the houses were in a sad state. He could see cracked plaster, broken windows, doors stuck in place as the wood swelled with humidity. But the basic construction was generally sound, and most of the buildings would only need a bit of work to be livable again.

There were more and more people moving into Konoha these days, attracted by the growing success and influence of the Village; if he looked around, maybe he could find people who wouldn't care about what had happened there ten years ago. And if he had regular tenants -- say, four, five families at least -- for houses of such quality, his children would never need to worry about going hungry.

Maybe the echo of new voices would banish the memories. Maybe with other vendors calling to passersby and other grandmas chattering in the square and other children playing in the streets ...

Maybe his own children...

He stopped in his tracks, looking up at the wall marked with his clan's fan -- with the kunai mark still right in the middle -- then turned and stared at the door of his home long and hard before his hand rose to push it open.

His children would play in this street, and run through this door -- dragging toys behind them as they walked out, swinging school bags around as they came back -- his children would...

His children would...

... he couldn't. He couldn't see them here. He could only see the door his father had held open for him when he'd been too small to do it on his own, and the kitchen window through which his mother had waved to him everyday, and the hall -- where he'd greeted his big brother -- the gallery where he'd stubbed his toes so many times -- the sliding doors that made that neat noise when snapping closed, and open, and closed, _snap! woosh-snap! Sasuke! Will you stop that?_ And his father's office, forbidden, fascinating territory -- the corridor that led to his bedroom, and the other door -- his little hand raised to knock softly -- _'tachi, there's something in my closet_ ...

He couldn't. He couldn't. He could see nothing but his past in here. Nothing but his pain. As hard as he tried, he couldn't see Naruto napping, sprawled against the ancient, gnarled tree by the little pond, or Sakura walking barefoot under the shade of the galleries. He couldn't see any children but himself -- him and Itachi -- and he'd thought he'd decided not to let his past hold him back anymore, but it wasn't as easy as that.

Tolerating the Uchiha district again was one thing, so long as he did all he could to make it look different -- paint the houses, plant bushes and trees, knock down a few walls maybe -- but no amount of redecorating would change this place, where he'd lived since birth, enough to separate it from his memories. No amount of varnish would hide the outlines of two bodies in the dojo, and the dark stains in the wood planks.

He had to -- his teammates-- his family -- they needed a place to live, a place big enough for all of them, and why make it so complicated when it was so simple? He owned the house already, they didn't have to spend any money, they just had to move in, that was the perfect solution -- but he couldn't.

He had to, and he couldn't. He wasn't even able to suck it up and stop feeling sorry for himself, not even for his future wife, not even for his lover, for their unborn child, for his new family. He was so fucking selfish, and even his disgust at his own weakness didn't change a thing. There was just no way he could, and that was it.

It was dark; it didn't matter. Slowly, so slowly, he stepped inside -- unable to stop the ingrained habit to pause and take off his sandals -- started walking down the hall -- to the kitchen, he made himself go to the kitchen, not to go to his parents' bedroom first; of course there was nothing of importance there, nothing he wanted to keep. The laundry room was the same -- he'd hidden behind that big porcelain sink, had poked at the drying sheets, puzzled by their heaviness; his mother had smiled, sometimes even laughed, clear and high and so pure -- the corridor was empty but for the paintings on the walls. No sentimental value to these; he took down a few scrolls with beautiful calligraphies and rolled them up, stuck them under his arm -- even water-stained, maybe they would be worth something -- he was stalling again, of course.

He didn't want anything from his bedroom, and nothing in the world would make him step inside his brother's. His father's study looked less imposing -- Sasuke had grown up; the magic was gone. The magic, and that man so serious, so stern, so reserved -- he opened the drawers quickly, efficiently, going through the room in the precise search pattern they'd been taught in class. There were no papers he wanted, except for medical info and the Uchiha clan register -- a long, heavy scroll with gold tassels that joined the paintings under his arm. Inadvertently, he knocked a picture frame face-down on the desk, and didn't bother righting it up. A scroll on advanced Katon jutsus found its way in his belt pouch. Then that was it.

The dojo -- no. No way in hell. Not even if piles of gold and riches were inside.

What else could he want? Clothes? No. Furniture? Hell no. Knickknacks? Unnecessary. Weapons? He had enough of his own, and his parents had never bothered to put money into bejeweled swords or intricate blades when a plain, simple kunai did the work. As for their Konoha headbands, they'd been buried with them.

With measured steps -- he wasn't going to run out -- he walked toward the exit, calmly stepped back into his sandals, walked out in the garden -- Sakura had said she wanted a pond, but this one was full of green stuff and stank with dead fish and mud -- crossed through the dried beds of flowers, and dumped his findings by the far wall.

Then he turned back to face the house -- home -- and didn't let his sight blur as he shaped the seals for the first major jutsu he had ever performed.

As the fire roared through the house, he could hear his father -- _As expected, you are my son..._ \-- and his home burned, and the gallery in which he'd sat by Itachi's side -- _Of course I'm sure that Father loves you, little brother_ \-- blackened, and the windows -- _Welcome home, Sasuke-chan! So, what did you learn today?_ \-- exploded, and the roof -- _Hey, how goes, bratling? Is your brother in_? -- caved in -- _Sasuke-chan? Where are you?_ \--and he could see nothing -- _Surprise! So, who's a big boy today?_ \-- but fire and smoke and destruction -- _Hurry up, little brother, or I'll go without you_ \-- as he blew more and more power into the blaze, and the smoke was harsh and he had to close his eyes and pour even more chakra into the jutsu -- it wasn't enough, he could still see -- he could still remember -- and the smoke stung so much, stung his eyes and scratched at his throat -- he couldn't breathe ...

And there were arms around him, strong arms, and a large, solid chest against his back, and he could breathe again, in big, gulping gasps, and soft hands slid behind his nape and pressed his face against a tender neck. He clung to her, hiding in her arms, knowing that the man at his back would keep on clinging to him.

They didn't try to talk, and for that he was grateful. He didn't want to explode or to break down for a misinterpreted word. He just wanted them there. He didn't want to have either of them remark on the way the smoke choked him and stung his eyes, because he knew that then it would cease to be smoke and become something infinitely more shameful. If he let go of even an inch more, he'd break, and he wasn't sure he would be able to put himself back together again. So he stayed there, sitting in Naruto's lap and Sakura straddling his own, not caring about the way he'd ended in that position, and he held onto them and they held onto him and finally, finally the past let go.

"Well," Naruto said -- and in his voice there was nothing but his normal good cheer, a hint of stifled laughter, "if you tell us where we can find some water here, Sakura can test her new Suiton jutsu."

Sasuke blinked against her skin, feeling his damp eyelashes brush her neck, making her shiver, and they both turned to look at Naruto quizzically. He was grinning, just a touch softer than he usually did -- the light of the fire made his hair look like it was burning -- and Sasuke was grateful that the blond was going to pretend things were okay; maybe Sakura would follow Naruto's lead. He didn't want to talk about his feelings, now or ever.

"Why?" she asked, her fingers still playing absently with the strands of hair at Sasuke's nape.

"To stop it before it spreads to the whole district, of course."

And Naruto was grinning so widely, and seemed to find it such a grand joke, that Sasuke almost forgot to jump on his feet and hurry off to put out the blaze.

By the time they'd gotten it under control, they were dirty with soot from head to toe, and frazzled. When the firemen noticed the smoke and came to investigate, the three of them were sitting in the garden, on the edge of a great charred pile, and laughing themselves breathless for no reason at all.

For the record, Sakura's Suiton jutsu was only slightly more efficient than throwing water with an old, empty flowerpot. But seeing as she'd gotten the water for it from the half-dried pond, maybe that wasn't so surprising.

The firemen let them help a bit, but only because there were also cops around to keep an eye on them; and the second they were sure the fire was under control, the trio was briskly herded down the streets. Sasuke didn't really care what the cops did, nor did he listen to what was said; Naruto's arm was around his shoulders and Sakura's around his waist, holding him up, and if that made him look like he was drunk, well, whatever.

The harsh, white ceiling lights of the police station were blinding after the dying fire's. Sasuke realized absently that he would have to buy Naruto another shirt; his nice one was covered in burnt holes. And Sakura had sooty lines smeared over her face.

And he also realized that the cops hadn't recognized him before, in the dark; now that they were inside the station, the angry muttering that he'd been tuning out shone by its absence.

"Well, I'll be... Sasuke-kun?"

He looked up, blinking dazedly at the grizzled old man peering at him.

"... You won't remember me, it's been too long, but -- ah. Come on, the three of you. No, no, Matsuda, it's alright, I'll handle it."

Sasuke followed where Naruto guided, and sat down when the blond dragged him down on a bench at his side. Sakura took place on his other side, perched at the edge of the bench. She looked nervous; it was hard to care about anything, but he still nudged her with his knee. Naruto was a solid presence at his side, which was good because he was listing a little.

"...Alcohol? Drugs?"

"No, sir, just, uh, stress..."

Sasuke opened his eyes, straightened up -- he'd almost blacked out, he couldn't let himself slip -- and met the cop's eyes.

"I'm sober. It was just... time for some spring cleaning."

The police officer looked horribly understanding; pitying, even, but by then Sasuke had rebuilt enough of his control to smother any emotional reaction that tried to arise past his exhaustion.

"... I see."

The cop didn't ask him anything else, questioning Sakura and Naruto instead. The two idiots didn't want to inculpate him, and kept mumbling and glancing at each other.

"They weren't there," he grumbled, stopping them. "They came later." Idiots really should know that he'd get more leeway than either of them, just on account of this guy having worked with his clan before the... Before.

He didn't really listen to the rest of the explanation; he just listened to their voices, eyes closed.

He ended up getting what amounted to a slap on the wrist. A slightly expensive slap on the wrist, but all the same, nothing like what it could have been. He would get a fine for arson and reckless endangerment -- though the charges were nothing like what he could have faced if the house had been anywhere but in the middle of an empty, walled-off district -- and that was it. He didn't much care, really.

They weren't done with all the legalities before dawn, and by then the three of them were so exhausted that they didn't even try walking home just yet. By wordless agreement, Naruto and Sakura found a bench in a street off the main avenue and sat him down; his head ended up on Sakura's shoulder. Naruto disappeared; Sasuke didn't know how long. Sakura's hand was in his hair again. So much for the hair gel; but he didn't protest.

When Naruto came back, he held pastries. Sasuke hadn't known it was that late. Or early. The pastries were warm. Sakura, too, warm and soft, and Naruto, warmer and harder. He wanted to push them away, to extract himself and get up and tell them that he was all right and they didn't need to coddle him. But they were still not saying anything, so he decided that he could wait five minutes. And five minutes longer. And maybe a little more.

Then there were steps running down the avenue, light and swift -- blonde ponytail trailing behind a girl -- he pushed himself off the bench just as Sakura gasped, "Ino!" By the time the other girl had heard and backtracked to their street, he was standing a few feet away with his arms crossed; and when she joined them he had his expression under control again.

Naruto was sitting on the edge of the bench, as if he was contemplating reaching out and grabbing him, but thankfully he didn't; Ino distracted him by coming to a stop in front of the bench, hands on her hips. Still panting lightly, she gave Sakura a reproachful look.

"Geez, forehead-girl, I was waiting up for you! You weren't at your parents' being a good girl; you weren't at Sasuke's getting laid; you weren't anywhere!"

Huffing, Ino plopped down on the bench in the spot Sasuke had vacated. Naruto winced as he scooted aside to give her some space; Ino stared at him with suddenly round eyes. "Oops... Did I interrupt necking time?"

Sasuke heard Sakura groan behind him; he was turned away, though, and didn't see her expression.

"We were just... talking."

Ino snickered. "Oh, I see. 'We were just... um... TALKING.' Sure, real convincing there. I know I'm convinced."

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

Behind him, Naruto sighed. "Oi, Ino, mind not tap-dancing on the ruined moment?"

"... Oops."

There were a few shuffling sounds, presumably accompanied by sheepish looks, eye-rolls or shrugs, and then the interloper stood back up. "I think I'll go back home now... Sakura, what are you doing now?"

Sasuke turned back to look at his teammates. Sakura was giving him a questioning look.

"Well, it depends," she muttered, still looking at him askance.

Sasuke shrugged, working on not frowning at her. "I'm going back to the apartment to sleep." He just wanted to stop feeling empty and cold, and he had already abused their willingness to tolerate his weakness for too long.

"Yeah, I'll be going too," Naruto added with a yawn, as he picked a few crumbs of pastries from his clothes. He had changed them, Sasuke noticed now; he was wearing a too-large t-shirt that had probably belonged to some cop. So long as Ino didn't think to ask about it...

Sakura sighed softly, and then turned to Ino, who was waiting a few steps away, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Guess I'll go back with you, Ino-pig."

"Okay. Well, um... Goodnight, Naruto, Sasuke," Ino replied with a sheepish smile. "And sorry for interrupting..."

Sasuke's eyes slid over her. "See you tomorrow, Sakura," he commented as he passed his teammates and walked off. He heard a few more whispered exchanges behind him, and then Naruto caught up with him.

The blond didn't try to hold his hand or anything too familiar, but he bumped into Sasuke's shoulder a lot. Sasuke pretended not to notice.

He just wanted to go to bed. Sleep. Hopefully not dream. He climbed the stairs mechanically; stepped in the shower to get rid of the soot and mud -- it didn't get rid of the heaviness weighting his limbs down -- and then went to his bedroom, not even bothering to turn on the light as he dragged himself to his bed.

He sat on the edge, fell back, and stared at the ceiling.

Well... now he didn't even have a house for the three of them anymore. And he really didn't like the idea of moving into another apartment. But -- he might as well save as much money as possible. Which implied that they needed to start sharing the rent three ways instead of two as soon as they could. It implied...

... God, he just wanted to stop thinking for a minute. Where had the blankness of total emotional exhaustion gone?

"Hey."

He lifted his head and looked up; Naruto was standing just outside the door.

"What do you want?"

"Oi! Do I have to want something? Maybe I was just walking by and my feet got tired. And hey! Doorjamb to prop me up."

The tone didn't fit the words; it wasn't teasing or defensive. It was kind of amused, but neutral too; as neutral as Naruto ever got.

At least the blond wasn't stupid enough to try sounding soothing. The day Sasuke needed soothing from Naruto, of all people... He let that thought trail off before he had to remind himself of recent events. Posturing was too much work at the moment.

"... Naruto..." Sasuke sighed, giving the intruder a weary look.

"It was open," Naruto replied, more quietly.

Sasuke closed his eyes, and let his head fall back on the covers; he considered explaining to Naruto that forgetting to close his door didn't actually imply an invitation to invade his space, nor did it imply that he wanted Naruto in there. Because he didn't.

"It was open," he finally admitted softly.

The mattress dipped under Naruto's weight; his knee bumped into Sasuke's as he swung it lazily. Sasuke frowned faintly, opening his eyes again to glance up at his teammate. Naruto wasn't sitting too close, and he wasn't even looking toward Sasuke; leaning back on his hands, he was contemplating the ceiling.

"I got an idea."

"Did it hurt?"

Naruto flashed him a quick grin. "Oh yeah, honey, but it was the good kind of pain -- kidding, kidding."

Sasuke rolled his eyes; more because it was the minimal reaction Naruto expected from him than anything else. "What about?"

"Not about the money -- we'll just have to make Chuunin. And we so totally will."

Sasuke snorted, smirked faintly at his stubborn look. "Me, maybe. You..." He paused, shook his head. "What was your grand idea about? How to scam people out of their fortunes?"

"Nah, it's not about the money, or where we're gonna live, or all that shit -- we'll find a way, really. No, it's more important."

Naruto let himself fall back onto the mattress, laying down by Sasuke's side, and crossed his hands behind his head with false casualness. Sasuke frowned at him, and wondered why he wasn't just blurting it out.

"It's about the baby."

Sasuke pushed himself up on his elbows to stare down at the blond. Naruto was looking up at him, unnervingly serious.

He could, Sasuke realized dazedly; Naruto really could fix it -- save the child and Sakura. Or he thought he could, anyway. For a second, Sasuke hated Naruto blindingly for giving him hope when Sasuke had been so utterly trapped, and had already surrendered to the knowledge that everything was out of his hands.

But this was Naruto; hope against all odds was pretty much his trademark.

"... Talk," Sasuke rasped out; hope stirring under the apathy.

Naruto talked.

Naruto's ideas, Sasuke had learned over the course of the last five years, were sometimes very idiotic, for the very obvious reason that sane people didn't DO that. At any other time, Sasuke would have said "no" on principle after the first sentence; it sounded... quite demented. Besides, it would rest mostly on Naruto's shoulders, and Sasuke didn't really like thinking that his role would be minimal.

Then again -- Naruto's "idea" would need a serious amount of refining and smoothing down the rough edges, and he wasn't going to do it himself. Thoughtful, Sasuke grunted an acknowledgement when Naruto finally fell silent, already starting to think about the problems he could see.

"... So?"

It was crazy. It would be complicated, and dangerous, and if the Council caught them in the act, they would definitely be unhappy with the three of them.

But by God, he was tired of sitting on his ass and letting outside forces roll him around.

"Why not," he said. "I'll start the research."

He wasn't done pushing himself up when Naruto dragged him back down onto the mattress. The blond rolled onto his side, throwing an arm across Sasuke's chest and pinning him down. "Tomorrow, Sasuke."

Sasuke growled wearily. "Naruto--"

Naruto's arm wouldn't budge.

"Let's get some sleep first. I swear it will keep. Alright?"

The window was gilded with pink and gold. In the bedroom, it was still dark; dark enough that he could pretend that he couldn't see Naruto, if he wanted to; that he could pretend the anchoring weight across his chest was just a pillow.

Sasuke closed his eyes; listened to Naruto breathe. The blond was quiet and steady, warm and just so _there_.

"... Alright. Tomorrow."


	6. 6 - The Plan (Naruto)

_/You've got two bitches and you still wake up alone. Train them better already./_

Naruto blinked sleepily at the hollow in the mattress at his side, and pouted as he realized that he was indeed alone. The sheet only retained the barest hint of warmth. It figured; he was already surprised that he hadn't been kicked out during the night when Sasuke regained his senses and his usual attitude toward physical closeness. Naruto could hear the shower running, though; the bastard wasn't very far away.

_/The pink slut is. What are you letting her live elsewhere for?/_

Naruto winced as the fox threw memories of gutted females to the front of his mind, fetuses torn out -- when they hadn't been devoured. It was, apparently, a delicacy. _/So very tender./_ Kyuubi didn't think much of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

 _'No one's gonna eat the baby, furball. Humans don't eat each other,'_ he replied grouchily.

Kyuubi didn't seem very convinced. Naruto caught a flash of two vixens, a pink one and a blond one, curled together in a burrow, hiding from big bad predators. _/Needs a male there/_ he rumbled musingly. To protect them; and also to mount them a lot.

Naruto yawned, and tried not to think about bad stuff; it was too early in the morning. Besides, if he translated Kyuubi's vixens into humans... heh. Hehehe. Yeeah, he'd had that fantasy a couple of times in the last years. "Ino? Oh yeah, she's kinda hot, and Sakura and her... But it's either Ino or Sasuke; Sasuke won't share with her."

_/He can't bear your kits either./_

Naruto didn't care much for starting the morning by an argument with a voice in his head; besides, he already knew that Kyuubi viewed males as nothing more than toys. Fun toys, granted. He really shouldn't alienate Kyuubi at the moment; the demon was surprisingly sociable today, and there was no reason to waste the rare non-murderous moment.

"Ino would screech our ears out."

_/Pink slut already does./_

"Not half as much as Ino would; 'sides she and Sakura would bicker and fight all the time."

Contempt. _/Fuck them until they're too tired to stand./_

Naruto started laughing; he rather liked that suggestion. Purely rhetorically, of course.

Yeah, this would be a good day. Sakura's dad liked him, Sasuke had let Naruto and Sakura help him, and they were gonna fix Sakura's chakra problem. And Kyuubi was, as always, an asshole, but if Naruto laughed at it instead of getting offended and letting it weird him out, then it couldn't really bother him.

He rolled out of the bed with an easy grace -- the fox was still close, almost as if Kyuubi was looking over his shoulder -- and tripped on Sasuke's abandoned shoes. Gack! He caught himself on the door, wincing at the noise and his smarting palm. Should have known it was a fluke.

"What did you break?" Sasuke yelled from the bathroom.

"I didn't break anything! I just--" left a sooty imprint on his door. Damn it! He'd washed his hands, hadn't he? Yes, he had, at the station, and his face too... But not the rest of him. Of course, now that he was thinking about it, it started to itch.

The water cut off. "You just?" Sasuke repeated, suspicious. Naruto wondered where the soft-spoken, almost docile Sasuke from the night before had gone. Oh well, this one was more normal at least. A desperate Sasuke was a dangerously unpredictable Sasuke; Naruto was glad.

He was tired of yelling through a closed door, though. So he threw it open and stepped inside. "It was open!" Naruto chirped, and dodged hurriedly. The soap bounced off the wall over his head and left a wet, soapy trail in his hair on the way down.

Sasuke was glaring at him through the glass partition of the shower stall, his bare arm still hanging out through the door. " _No_ , it was _not_."

"Oh well, it is now -- oh hey, you're naked."

Sasuke threw him a nasty glare, and slammed the sliding panel closed. "No shit, genius."

He was very naked. And wet. And his hair was sticking to his face. Damn that towel rack for blocking the rest of the view.

Though when Sasuke turned away to turn the water back on, it gave Naruto a nice view of his shoulder. And there was the warded curse seal on his neck; small, and part of the landscape by now, but surprisingly hard to ignore. Naruto dismissed the dark impulse to bite down on it, to scar over the mark of ownership with his own.

"So did you just barge in to peep on me, or did you actually have a goal in mind?"

"Maybe peeping was my goal," Naruto retorted, craning his neck to keep glancing back at Sasuke as he washed his hands at the sink.

"Don't make me stuff that soap up your ass, Naruto."

"Oh, bad idea. I hear it makes for terrible lube." He grinned innocently and pulled off his shirt, looking around for a washcloth. There was soot at the base of his neck, and more soot over his chest and under his armpits.

"I thought you were too good to bottom -- what are you doing?"

"Washing up."

"You can't wait your turn?" Sasuke groused, and finished rinsing himself off.

"But it itches NOW!" Naruto protested, rubbing more vigorously.

"Goddamnit -- here! I'm done. Now take a shower instead of dripping dirty water all over the floor."

Sasuke stomped out of the stall, his back stiff, and snatched a towel to dry himself off. He was saying something, about next times and kicking Naruto out and locking the door. Naruto wasn't all too sure of the details, actually. The towel was old and scratchy, and Sasuke's vigorous rubbing left his skin looking flushed. On Sakura, he would have called that shade just-got-molested...

... Hohoho.

"What are you -- let goMMPH!"

Sasuke growled into Naruto's mouth; Naruto laughed in response, and slipped his tongue between Sasuke's lips as deeply as he could go.

"What the fuck--" Sasuke sputtered angrily as he broke the kiss.

"Good morning, bastard!"

Naruto kissed him again, using his weight to back him against the half-open door. Sasuke started shoving him back, but then he slipped on the trail the wet soap had left on the tiles and bumped hard against the door, slamming it closed. Naruto didn't lose any time taking advantage of the opportunity.

Towel dumped on the floor, check. Chest to bare chest, check. Lower body -- damn it, Naruto was still wearing pants. It was kinda nice to know that Sasuke's lower body was bare, though. Lips -- oww, bastard bit hard. Hands...

...Well. Sasuke had to be distracted from biting his lips off, right?

"Nngh!"

... And now Sasuke was kissing back properly. Awesome how a good double hold on his butt changed things -- oh yeah...

"Moron... Gonna get me dirty again..."

"You can shower with me," Naruto proposed, mouthing his neck.

Sasuke shoved him off without warning. Naruto flailed; the same soapy puddle that had ambushed Sasuke had just turned on him. He somehow managed to grab the sink and the edge of the shower stall. "Hey!"

"That's enough 'good morning' for today," Sasuke growled, picked up his towel, and stomped out of the bathroom.

... Well, watching him walk off was nice, too. Naruto wasn't sure what he'd done, though. Oh well, this was still a good way to start the day. He kicked off his pants and stepped into the shower, whistling.

Sasuke's bedroom door was firmly closed when Naruto left the shower, but it didn't matter much, since Sasuke himself was in the kitchen. Still whistling, Naruto strutted his way to the couch and his personal stuff, his back to the counter.

He had been expecting an attack for 'forgetting his towel', and dodged the flying spatula easily, but the second of delay between his appearance and the attack made him grin anyway.

"That was sloppy, Sa-su-ke! Distracted?"

"... If in five seconds you're still naked, I'll throw you out of the window."

Naruto bent over the arm of the couch to pick up a shirt and briefs. "Aw, and you'd let people in the street get an eyeful? Some boyfriend you are! What if I get pawed at by old ladies?"

It was still weird to call Sasuke his boyfriend; they were best friends and teammates first. But it made Sasuke go all gruff to hide his embarrassment, so hey. Whatever worked.

"They're welcome to keep you. Hurry up, we're going to be late."

Naruto snickered, and jumped into his pants before joining Sasuke, and leaning over the counter to look in the kitchen. Sometimes, he wondered if it was truly alright for him to cling to Sakura-chan and Sasuke, physically at least; but he already knew that Sasuke wanted his body bad. He wondered if Sakura found him hot, too, or if she only loved him like a brother.

Well, not the incestuous kind. Or something.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

His teammate was by the fridge, frowning at the contents of a pot, and only grunted an acknowledgement.

"Would you have sex with me? I mean, just me, no Sakura."

Sasuke's back stiffened briefly, and he gave him a long, 'where the hell did that come from' look. Naruto grinned, waiting.

"...Maybe. If I was in the mood."

"Hah! You're such a prude." He dodged the ladle, guffawing. "What would it take to get you in the mood?"

"Keep bothering me and you'll see." Sasuke grunted at him.

"...Arguments turn you on? Ahaha! Why am I not surprised?"

Sasuke flung open a cupboard, slammed an instant ramen cup under Naruto's nose, and pushed the kettle at him. "Shut up, already."

Naruto grinned as he poured the hot water on his noodles, and pretended to forget about the conversation; right now the smell of his favorite food was a lot more interesting.

He watched with interest as Sasuke rolled and shaped onigiri from his rice. For all that Sasuke could cook simple stuff reasonably well, he rarely did it where anyone could see him.

"Is that a triangle or a square?" Naruto inquired as he finished his noodles. It was hard to mess up onigiri -- they were only plain rice with salt, wrapped in seaweed, and Sasuke wasn't bothering with several kinds of fillings -- but as for shaping them, he was a little sloppy.

Sasuke frowned and ignored him, apparently offended; Naruto decided to solve the matter by stretching out over the counter and stealing the faulty rice ball.

The ladle hit him soundly over the head, and he almost choked on his onigiri.

"When did I say any of these are for you?"

"Ow! Selfish." Glowering, Naruto swallowed hurriedly, and reached for a second one, glaring at Sasuke defiantly.

... Bastard grabbed the table and dragged it out of reach.

"Hey, that's cheating!"

Naruto was ignored again, as Sasuke finished rolling them and stuffing a few in a box to take along.

"... Would you have sex with only Sakura?"

Naruto snickered as one of the rice balls went "splurt" between Sasuke's clenched fingers, and grinned innocently when Sasuke whirled around to give him a death glare.

"What's with all the questions?"

"What? I want to know. 'Cause you see, I know you watch my ass, but I don't see you watch Sakura's all that often, so..."

... Oops. What had he just said now? Sasuke looked angry for real, not simply annoyed.

"So. What. You think I'm gay?"

Naruto shrugged, grimacing. "Not entirely, I mean you didn't seem to have a huge problem getting it up for her that night, but maybe you like boys more than girls. It's not a problem for me, I just wanna know if you think you need me there when you're with her."

"...In other words," Sasuke replied softly, "Do I need a cock up my ass to do her?"

Oh, damnit. "I'm just asking! And you've never looked at most girls twice, so sue me for wondering if maybe you don't find any of them sexy."

Sasuke took a deep breath and released it slowly. "It isn't women in general I don't find sexy. It's the vapid twits who shower in perfume, paint their face so much I wouldn't recognize them without it, and think that shoving my face in their cleavage will make me lose my head."

Naruto scratched his head. How could he not appreciate pretty, curvy girls, and soft, inviting smiles, and cute giggles and squeals, and breasts! How could he not like breasts -- um. Yeah. "...So... you don't like girly girls."

Naruto huffed; Sakura had some pretty feminine sides, and while she had sacrificed a lot of them to become a better ninja, she still wasn't naturally inclined to be... un-girly. Naruto liked her like that.

"You'd want Sakura more if she tried to look pretty less often and to kick ass more, is that it?"

Sasuke looked away briefly, and Naruto sighed.

"I'm not going to ask her to wear potato sacks and shave her head."

"Well, you better not!" Naruto retorted with a pout. "...Are you sure you're not gay? I mean, if you don't even like to see her boobs--"

"Did I say that? I like them just fine, it's just --" Sasuke clamped his jaws shut, turned away stiffly and washed the smashed rice off his hand.

Naruto cackled. "Just what?"

"Not everyone's a raging pervert who gets off on ogling people in the street."

"So you don't watch?"

"It's called discretion, maybe you've heard of it."

Naruto crowed in triumph. "So you DO watch!"

Sasuke gave him a disgusted look and stuffed his lunchbox in his pack. "This is the stupidest conversation I've ever had with you."

"No way, the stupidest one was about Kakashi-sensei's mask and how he eats through it."

Sasuke shouldered him away from the counter and stomped toward the door. Laughing, Naruto followed, jumping on one foot then the other one as he put on his sandals. He grabbed his own bag on the way and stepped out, waiting by the balustrade while Sasuke locked the door. There were a few white, puffy clouds in the sky, and a light breeze made the leaves of the tree in the courtyard dance; the day promised to be beautiful. A good thing; their mission of the day was going to have them jogging to the next town over to deliver messages for various businesses.

He waved jovially at the Chuunin who was spying on them from the next roof, and considered with some amusement that Tsunade must have found some great leverage in her permanent battle with her counselors; now the days he was under watch were a lot rarer than the days without. Anyway, they left him alone when he was with Kakashi-sensei or some other responsible person, and the annoyance was so minor that he didn't feel like bothering to be annoyed. He suspected that the person who kept him under watch did so as much to nag Tsunade with stuff that she had to pretend to ignore, as because they were really worried he'd lose it and start rampaging. He wasn't going to let them score a point against the old hag off him.

... Though if he wanted to molest Sasuke or Sakura one of these days, he'd better remember to do so with the blinds closed; neither of his teammates was much into exhibitionism, as far as he knew. ... Oh hey, maybe he should ask them, later.

"What's so funny?"

Naruto realized that he was grinning, and grinned a little wider. "It's a nice day." Yep; nice weather, a mission that would get them back on the road, Sasuke out of his funk, and a solution to Sakura's health problems in sight. A very nice day.

Sasuke huffed and started down the stairs. Naruto followed, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

"Are you still annoyed about the boobs conversation?"

"Only if you start it again."

"Okay, okay. So you're of the 'more than a handful is a waste' school of thought, and I'm with the 'bigger is better' crowd. At least we can agree on what makes a nice ass, right?"

Sasuke shrugged out of Naruto's hold and glowered. "What's with you and girls today? Have you forgotten to jerk off for the last month or what?"

"We could talk about boys, but I haven't thought as much about it."

Sasuke actually growled. "Yes, I got it, you're straight as a ruler, I'm just a fluke -- or maybe just girly enough for you."

Naruto blinked, startled. "What? No! I just like girls better in general, but it isn't as if you're the only boy I've ever -- guh. Of course you're a boy, I mean you're pretty, but that's just your face and you're gonna kill me, aren't you."

Now Sasuke looked put-upon, and tired. Very tired. "... I'm not pretty."

"Uh -- don't worry," he replied as they reached the end of the stairs, "Sakura is still prettier."

Sasuke threw him an unfriendly look, but these came standard and Naruto ignored it. So long as he kept replying, they were still bantering.

"Yes," Sasuke growled out through gritted teeth, "and Sakura also has breasts -- should I grow some to please you, Naruto-sama?"

"Well, you'd look weird with huge knockers, but maybe GACK! I was kidding -- oww, oww!"

Naruto squirmed on the ground, trying to get out of the hold, but Sasuke only put more weight on the foot in the middle of his back and twisted his arm a little farther back.

"Come on, Sasuke, just because I think you'd look nice with tits...!"

"...Ah... Good morning?"

Naruto craned his neck, and grinned up at Sakura. She was watching them, and from there he couldn't tell if she looked more jaded or annoyed, or something else. "Hiya, Sakura-chan!"

"Hello, Naruto... Sasuke-kun."

She gave Sasuke a quick worried look, then smiled. "I didn't think you'd leave so early..."

Huh. Sasuke was looking away from her; it probably bothered him that she still visibly worried about yesterday. Naruto could understand where she was coming from, though; last she'd seen the bastard, he hadn't been in such a good state. Naruto wasn't sure telling her about their plan in the middle of the street was a good idea -- he wasn't even sure they should tell her at all just yet. What if it didn't work? "Yeah, Sasuke rushed me out. I think he was scared for his onigiri -- oh hey, that reminds me, I gotta buy sandwiches for the road."

"Onigiri?" she repeated in surprise, glancing at Sasuke, and then at Naruto. Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"Yep! They're not so bad, even if he always makes them with the same kind of fish. But he's not gonna sell them anytime soon," he added, smirking at Sasuke over his shoulder. "They're too ugly."

Sasuke snorted as he followed them. "They're not ugly. They're also not for you, idiot."

Sakura looked vaguely disappointed. "Oh."

"You're so selfish!" Naruto accused, pointing a finger at him.

Sasuke shrugged and looked away briefly. "Never said Sakura couldn't have any."

"What, just me?!"

Sasuke smirked at him. "Yes."

Naruto kept up the banter with Sasuke with the ease of a long habit, glad to see that Sakura was relaxing a little at their ritual exchange of insults. _See? He's fine_.

Sakura seemed a bit too subdued for his tastes, but then she'd probably spent the rest of the night fretting -- also, she faintly smelled like she'd gotten sick not too long ago; it was weak enough that he could have missed it, but she was still a bit too pale, too. He tried not to worry too much; Sasuke would find a way to make his idea work, and then she'd be safe.

In the meantime, Naruto reminded himself that not everyone could eat right after throwing up, and hid the food he'd just bought deep into his bag; she was turning green around the gills.

+

By the time night fell over the town, Naruto had delivered all his messages. Of course, it also meant that he came back last to the hotel; but he didn't care, because tomorrow he would get to do whatever he wanted while the rest of his team finished up their deliveries. It had been a good idea to take the restaurants and night clubs; they gave him longer hours to work with.

Kakashi was chatting quietly with Sakura over a cup of tea in the dining room. Naruto joined them in their secluded corner, slumping heavily on the closest chair.

"Hey. I'm back." He stretched his legs under the table and winced a little as his feet reminded him that they hated his guts. "Bastard not back yet? I thought I was the last..."

Sakura looked away; Naruto blinked.

"He's upstairs," Kakashi replied instead. "We're staying in a six-bed dormitory. So far we're not sharing with anyone, though."

Naruto pouted. "What, no separate rooms? Stingy..."

Kakashi smiled at him with unnerving cheerfulness. "Are you going to do anything that needs a private bedroom as opposed to a simple bed, Naruto?"

"Well--"

Sakura kicked him under the table.

"Ow! Uh. No, guess not." Naruto ruffled his hair, grinning uncomfortably. "What were you talking about?"

Sakura blushed a little, looking away, and Naruto blinked at her. Okay, there was something weird going on there. What would she talk about with Kakashi-sensei that she wouldn't want him to know?

"Nothing important," Kakashi replied smoothly. Naruto scowled, and opened his mouth to protest, but Kakashi beat him to it. "You've been running hard, I see. Go take a shower."

"Hey, what's that mean? I stink?"

Sakura grimaced. "Well, you don't smell of roses. In fact, you smell of -- tobacco?"

"And pot," Kakashi added helpfully, opening his book as if he wasn't concerned.

"Ah, yeah, my last stop was a strip joint."

Sakura leveled a flat glare at him that made him quake in his shoes. " _Really_."

Naruto gaped at her for a few seconds; caught off-guard by the unexpected possessiveness, he almost forgot he was in trouble. "I didn't watch! Promise. They were all old and saggy anyway -- uh. Gonna take that shower now."

Sakura still looked about to bash his head in; it made him feel like bouncing. "Yes, you do that."

Naruto couldn't resist; really, he couldn't. He paused with his hand on the back of his chair, ready to shove it between them to protect himself, and asked with a wide grin, "Wanna wash my back?"

Of course, taking off running didn't help the state of his feet, but hey! It was better than a fist to the head.

Still grinning, he found the right room somehow, and peeked in; three rows of bunk beds, one of them right in front of the window. They weren't going to use that one. Sasuke had taken over the top bed on the left and was sitting cross-legged in the corner, his back to the wall. He glared suspiciously at Naruto over the scroll he was reading, and then, recognizing him, immediately stopped paying attention.

"Yeah, good evening to you too, you jerk," Naruto groused as he dropped his bag on the bed under Sasuke's, and fished out a change of underwear and his bathing stuff. When he exited the room, Sasuke hadn't even moved at all. Naruto shrugged it off; he had more pressing concerns for now.

The shower wasn't as hot as he would have liked, but still warm enough to make him feel better -- though he was really getting tired of being on his feet. The towel wrapped around his shoulders, he trudged back to the room to put away his stuff, and paused between the bunk beds as he tried to decide; nap, or Sakura-chan and Kakashi? It was late, and there was a chance he wouldn't wake up until tomorrow...

"Put away that towel," Sasuke ordered from his perch, startling him.

"Huh?"

"The towel. Put it away. And stand on the ladder."

Naruto stared up at his teammate, confused. "What?"

"Towel. Ladder. Now."

... O-kay. Whatever. He spread the towel over the windowsill and climbed the bars to Sasuke's bed, still confused.

"Stop."

Naruto stopped, the mattress pressing against the front of his thighs. Sasuke was staring at his bellybutton, scowling heavily. "Uh, Sasuke?"

"The seal. Make it come out."

...Oh. "You're doing research?" he asked, as he joined his hands to concentrate his chakra. The scroll across Sasuke's lap was covered in scribbles; he tried to read them, but they were upside-down and Sasuke's writing was tiny. Probably in code, too.

"Just the groundwork."

Naruto could feel Kyuubi stirring, deep below the surface, and it was difficult not to open up a way for the demon along with his chakra; so when Sasuke reached for Naruto's boxers, he was a bit surprised. "Gyah!" He caught himself on the safety rail, and gaped at the other boy. Sasuke was looking annoyed.

"I can't see the bottom half, stupid."

"Well, you should have asked me instead of diving for my underwear like that!" Naruto grumbled. He balanced himself and tugged his briefs as far down his hips as they could go without falling off or baring more of his body than Sasuke wanted to see at the moment.

"Make it come out again, and this time, don't move," Sasuke ordered absently as he started copying the seal on his scroll.

"Hurry up, my feet hurt," Naruto whined. The ladder was digging into them uncomfortably. He wanted to nap... Or sit down, at least. But then Sasuke would bitch that the seal was all bunched up.

"You're destroying my ego, you know," he muttered, pretty sure that Sasuke wasn't even listening. "You could at least leer a little."

Sasuke leaned forward and reached out, fingertips brushing against the bottom of the spiral. Naruto's breath hitched in surprise; Sasuke was looking up at him, a faintly mocking air in his eyes.

"If you stand still now, maybe I'll eventually be convinced to... reward you."

... Oh hell, now in a couple of minutes he would bitch because the tent in Naruto's pants was blocking the view.

"Naruto? Why did you flare your..." Sakura's voice trailed off behind him. "... chakra."

Startled, Naruto lost his balance and jumped off the ladder. Sakura was standing by the door, staring at the both of them.

"Ah, Sakura-chan," he started, and then paused; she was looking at him like he had been stomping on kittens.

"I see," she said calmly. Naruto didn't see; what was going on there?

"... Sakura?"

She clenched her fists, took in a deep breath. "Last call for dinner, Kakashi-sensei says to come down now or sleep on an empty stomach."

"Wait," he called hurriedly, alarmed by her tone, and looked around for his pants. "Wait, I'm coming with you -- Sakura-chan!"

One foot in his pants, he stared at the closed door, then looked up at Sasuke, taken aback. The other boy was still leaning on his hands on the bed, face empty of expression.

"Sasuke?"

Frowning suddenly, Sasuke sat back and began rolling his scroll with quick, curt movements.

"Sasuke, what's going on?"

"She thought I was about to go down on you," Sasuke replied tersely, and jumped over the railing, the scroll in hand.

"Oh!" Man, he wished. Well, from the door, maybe it did look that way... "But why'd she leave? I mean if it was me catching you two..." ...Oh.

He fell silent, dismayed. Sasuke didn't answer, only shaking his head briefly before stalking toward the door. Naruto scurried after him, grabbing a shirt as he passed.

She wasn't in the dining room; Kakashi was still at the same table, though he was leaning forward on his elbows. He wasn't reading; Naruto took that as a bad sign.

"What's this I hear about you two being busy?" he asked, smiling genially.

Naruto spluttered; Sasuke cut him off with a quick gesture and glared at their teacher. "We weren't. Where is she?"

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds while Naruto danced with impatience; and then Kakashi nodded slowly. "Bathroom. Don't cause a commotion."

Sasuke nodded sharply and stalked off. Naruto grimaced at Kakashi -- he felt like he should say something, he just didn't know what. His teacher just sighed, and waved him off.

The ground-floor girl's bathroom was empty at this hour, but Naruto did get a scandalized look from a middle-aged woman walking by when he slipped inside. Sasuke was standing by the one closed stall, looking quite disgruntled.

"Sakura, get out of there."

There was no reply; for a moment, Naruto thought that they'd gotten the wrong person.

"... You shouldn't be in here," she finally replied.

"As if I care. Come out, Sakura."

There was another moment of silence; Naruto gave Sasuke a pleading look and stepped forward to try it, but the other boy stopped him with a curt gesture without even looking at him.

"No," she finally replied.

Sasuke sighed, closed his eyes briefly, and then jumped to catch the top of the stall and pulled himself up. He dropped out of view as Sakura gasped in shock.

"H-hey! What if I'd been--"

Naruto drew closer, listening to the rustle of clothes as they moved around. The stall was barely wide enough for one, let alone two; but what stopped him from joining them was that Sasuke hadn't seemed to expect or want his help.

There was more silence; from the shadows under the stall, Naruto assumed that they were standing face to face. Or Sasuke was standing. Or... Gah.

"We weren't, Sakura."

Sasuke's voice was quiet, almost soft. Naruto relaxed a little; he'd been afraid the bastard would sound annoyed.

There was even more silence. Damn it. He went to close the bathroom's door quietly, and then sneaked back to the stall. He didn't know what was happening, but he was pretty sure popping up over the wall would blow up the moment like a wad of explosive tags.

Sakura sniffled quietly. The next second, Naruto was on his front on the floor. He could only see up to their knees without being seen himself; it was enough to understand that Sakura was leaning against Sasuke's chest. Hugging? Aw. Now he was torn between wanting to see and tiptoeing away.

"...Sorry, I'm sorry, I just--"

Sasuke didn't say anything, but he leaned against the door; Naruto saw her step forward hesitantly to stand between his legs.

Well, he thought to himself as he rolled away to sit up. Well. Maybe they'd be fine without him. Besides, the stall was really too narrow for the three of them.

"What were you doing then?" she asked quietly. It sounded a bit muffled; she probably had her face pressed against Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke sighed. "Do you trust me?"

Naruto blinked, and opened his mouth to protest. He wasn't going to tell her? Not mentioning it just yet was one thing, but deliberately refusing to say anything...

Sakura sounded a little hurt as she replied, "You know I do."

"Then please, wait a little longer." Sasuke's voice was so soft, so quiet, Naruto had to strain to hear him.

More silence; Naruto imagined that she was probably giving Sasuke a hurt look.

"...Fine. But you'll tell me eventually? Because if it wasn't... that, and yet it was still _something_..."

Sasuke shushed her. "Later, Sakura."

There was more silence; Naruto sat up against the wall, uncomfortable. Perhaps he ought to go back to Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke knew he was there, but Sakura probably didn't, and the idea of spying on them didn't sit well with him.

"I'm tired of living at Ino's. Yesterday -- I should have come back with you." She sniffled; the next words came out muffled again. "I feel out of the loop and I miss you two -- and you're cooking and chatting and I'm not there. I'm jealous..."

"I don't cook all that well or all that often, and Naruto can only make ramen," Sasuke replied, sounding embarrassed. "And basically it's just a lot of arguments about socks and boxers and music too loud and who has dibs on the bathroom."

"But it's the way you two relate. And I miss that. I mean, Ino is great, and it's been fun -- like a long sleepover... but..."

"... Do you want to move in with us? It's going to be cramped, but we'll figure something out."

"I don't know if it's a very practical idea, I mean -- I mean..." She sounded like she was trying not to cry. Naruto bit his lip, hard. "...Yes. Yes, I really want to."

Silence -- a kiss, soft and short.

"Alright."

Naruto snuck out of the bathroom. He'd intruded enough for tonight.

+

"They're pretty good, aren't they?"

Sakura blinked at Naruto, still chewing on her onigiri, and nodded vigorously. On her other side, Sasuke made a face.

"Gimme a bit, pretty-please Sakura-chaan?"

"You have sandwiches," Sasuke groused.

Naruto huffed at him, but the bastard was looking away. "So? I can share my sandwiches, too. Even if they're a bit old now," he muttered sulkily.

Sakura giggled softly and held out the rice ball in front of him. Naruto grinned widely at her and bit down.

"Mmh. Good good. But why d'you always make them with fish, Sasuke?"

"Because I like fish, and I'm not cooking for you," Sasuke grunted back.

Naruto wanted to take Sakura's hand; he hadn't had any occasion to be close to her since yesterday, what with the host politely informing them that the dining hall would close in fifteen minutes, Kakashi-sensei's presence in the bedroom, and then a morning spent delivering the rest of the missives. But the second they'd left the town to go back to Konoha, she had started walking beside Sasuke; and Sasuke hadn't tried to widen the gap between them when it ended up much more narrow than usual. Sometimes their arms or shoulders bumped, and Naruto wondered, vaguely grumpy, why they didn't hold hands already. It wasn't as if Kakashi-sensei turned around to check on them all that often.

Sasuke wasn't getting the hint, though; Naruto had followed them for an hour now and the stupid bastard still hadn't made a move on Sakura-chan.

Unless you counted not moving away, which by Sasuke's standards was probably a big one. Naruto wasn't sure if he should be glad or annoyed at Sakura's lack of boldness. She'd always had her strong-willed moments, and sometimes she acted like Tsunade was starting to rub off on her a bit, but around Sasuke she always went back to -- argh.

Oh well! He was tired of walking behind them anyway. Sasuke's loss. And she had fed him, and she hadn't fed Sasuke. So there. Though the mental picture of anyone hand-feeding Sasuke... Hahaha.

"What's so funny, dead-last?"

"Your hair looks like a bird's ass." And now, with the hair and the hand-feeding, Naruto was wondering what he'd look like as a duckling. So, of course, he just had to quack at him. Everything was better with sound effects.

Sakura groaned, and Sasuke sneered at him. "How old are you again?"

"Same as you," Naruto retorted, and stuck his tongue out.

Bickering was good; it was such an old habit that he didn't have to think at all. So he bickered with Sasuke, and with Sakura when she finally joined in. It was fun and comfortable, and he could stuff the silly romantic tension aside and forget it.

"I can't move in with you just yet."

Okay, yes, his fun was pretty much killed dead now. Naruto stared at Sakura, caught off-guard and dismayed. Now he could forget the fun bickering too. Sasuke didn't look all that pleased by the unexpected news either.

"You changed your mind? Why?" Sasuke asked, scowling.

She sighed, gave him a brave little smile, and then glanced at Naruto too, before shrugging and staring ahead. "I really want to, but... The apartment is not magically going to get any bigger."

"But I thought you'd be moving in today, or tomorrow," Naruto retorted, waving his arms in protest. He was aware that he was whining, but damn it, he didn't care! "I miss you, too -- uh." Oh, wait. Officially, he didn't know about that, right? Unless she had heard him, but -- but.

She caught his hand, and squeezed it gently. "Thank you, Naruto."

...Oh. He only remembered to squeeze back when she started to let go, and blushed a little as he caught the embarrassed, pleased look on her face. She was happy he missed her! That made life good enough to forget about her announcement. Well, almost.

"We'll look for a temporary apartment when we get there," Sakura continued, giving them questioning looks.

"Alright!" Naruto grinned back.

"If you don't mind moving so soon, Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke was scowling at the ground, and only shrugged. "I don't care. So long as it has enough space for three futons."

"And it's got a room for you to lock yourself in," Naruto added, rolling his eyes. Sasuke would be totally impossible to live with if he had nowhere to bolt to.

Sasuke glared at him. "I can deal without that if it isn't for the long run."

"Yeah, but we still don't know what to do 'bout getting a real home, so who knows how long it's gonna last?"

"It's stupid to waste money on a large apartment if it's not good enough to raise a child in it," Sasuke countered, scowling even more.

Naruto rolled his eyes again. "You're obsessed with money. Sure, what we've got now is gonna run out, but that's why people work; to make more."

"And you're totally irresponsible!"

A polite cough interrupted them. Sakura and Naruto reddened, as Sasuke cringed; they had forgotten that Kakashi was walking ahead. They hadn't started loud, but Kakashi's senses were uncanny as it was, and there was no way he had missed the conversation.

"Ah, sorry, sensei," Sakura apologized with a wince. Naruto scratched his neck, embarrassed, and waited for the 'we are on a mission, put your relationship on hold, already' reminder.

Instead, Kakashi shrugged, glanced at them over his shoulder, and commented casually, "Doesn't the Uchiha compound have many empty houses?"

...Oh, hey.

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other, then at Sasuke. He was scowling at the ground; Naruto opened his mouth to ask what he was brooding about now, though he did have something of a guess.

"And I have been lookout for the last hour," Kakashi announced cheerily, and slowed down, forcing them to spread out. "Sasuke! Your turn. Naruto, you take the rear. Sakura, do the fifth chakra control exercise, now."

Naruto would have protested more, but seeing how fast and how quietly Sasuke sped up to take point, he decided to stay silent. Damn Sasuke. For his birthday, Naruto would get him a t-shirt that read 'Warning: Explosive-Tag Field Ahead'.

It was hard to stay annoyed, though, when he thought about the way Sakura had squeezed his hand quickly before letting go.

Besides, when he was last in the line, he got to ogle their butts.

... Not Kakashi's. Eurgh.

+

"Bah! _'Make yourself useful'_ , he says. _'Stop disturbing me',_ he says."

Naruto kicked a rock out of his path and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Just 'cause I asked what he wanted to do about the stupid house. Bastard."

He fingered the folded slip of paper in his pocket, tempted to crumple it in frustration. But no -- Sasuke's handwriting was tiny enough; if he damaged the list...

Sasuke had been brooding obsessively over his scrolls and things since they had gotten back from their mission. Sakura-chan was with Tsunade for a check-up, or maybe training with Shizune; he wasn't sure. Kakashi-sensei... not a clue; the man had trained them in the morning, but then he'd given them the rest of the day off and disappeared. And Iruka-sensei was teaching his classes, of course.

So now Naruto had nothing better to do than play errand-boy. Oh well; if Sasuke needed those scrolls for their plan, Naruto would get them. Still... "Stupid cranky bastard."

"Naruto. It's been a while."

Naruto couldn't help but yelp and jump in surprise. Neji was emerging from another street, looking just as cool and composed as always. Since there was no way to pretend he hadn't been startled, Naruto made a show of clenching his hand over his heart. "Oi! You like creeping up on people, I see." How strange; speak of the cranky bastard and a cranky bastard appeared. The wrong one, granted, and not much of a bastard anymore at that, but still, it was pretty funny. He grinned as Neji arched an eyebrow at him. "Long time no see. Where are you going?"

Right now, Neji wasn't going anywhere; he was just watching him. Naruto scratched his neck, and tried to dismiss the unsettling impression that he was staring right through his brain.

"... Administrative building," the Hyuuga finally answered.

"Oh, cool, I'm going that way too." Naruto started walking, and Neji fell into step with him. "You picking up a new mission?"

"No. My latest report needs clarification." Neji looked quite disgruntled. Naruto snickered.

"What, YOU, writing confusing reports? No way."

Neji's scowl grew more pronounced. "It was too succinct, apparently."

"Suc-what?"

"Terse?" Neji retorted, arching an eyebrow at him.

Naruto chuckled and crossed his arms behind his head. "Oh, stop being a big-worded jerk. You can just say you didn't pad it enough."

"I said--"

"--exactly what needed to be said, no more, no less," Naruto finished for him. "Yeah, yeah. You know, that's exactly what they tell me to write down. Maybe I should do your reports and you should do mine."

He was expecting a 'and maybe not' and a mildly haughty look, perhaps with a smirk if Neji was in a good mood. Instead, he got silence, and -- when glancing at Neji in askance -- a long, searching, narrow-eyed look.

"... What?"

"You seem to be feeling much better," Neji finally replied noncommittally.

Naruto blinked at him. "Better? What do you mean? I'm fine -- oh." Oh. Last time Neji had seen him was during the retrieval mission, almost two months ago. As in, when they'd been racing back to Konoha and its hospital, after he had gone half-Kyuubi and forced Neji to check on Sasuke's internal trauma.

"...Oh, shit. I'm sorry. I forgot -- I mean, so much stuff happened and I--"

"Naruto--"

"--No, no, listen, I should have found you to apologize, but then life got crazy for a little while, and then when it calmed down I totally forgot." He gave Neji a dismayed look.

The Hyuuga's face was about as expressive as a blank wall. "Huh. I'll believe you on that life going crazy bit."

Naruto wilted, shoulders slumping, and wished he could say more; but they were in the middle of the street. "I really am sorry, you know. I was just so --"

"He was dying. I understand."

Naruto flinched a little, at the reminder, and at his detached tone. Neji was one of those people who could say they understood and mean it, and yet make it perfectly clear that understanding and forgiveness were really not synonymous at all.

"Who already knows?" Neji asked.

"Uhh. Mostly adults -- the teachers -- and Sakura-chan and Sasuke, now. And Kiba and Shika. I don't know if they told their teams. Everyone our age and under..." he shrugged.

Neji arched an eyebrow at him, aristocratic as always. "... You didn't tell your team?"

Naruto wilted. "No. I should have, but..."

"But?"

Naruto clenched his fists in his pockets and kicked at a rock. "Thinking that they might be afraid or hate me -- it scared the shit out of me." And now Neji...

"I see." They were silent for a few more steps, and then Neji turned toward him and smirked, just a little. "Well, that explains a lot of things, anyway. Like how you were able to beat me at all."

"Oh hey, what's that mean? That I had an unfair advantage?"

"Perhaps."

"Oh, and you being born a Hyuuga isn't unfair at all for the poor bastards you face. 'Sides, it isn't so easy to control, you know!"

Neji's faint smirk disappeared, and he nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I guess I can imagine that. How... difficult is it, exactly?"

Naruto blinked, startled. Under the 'couldn't care less' attitude, he'd heard -- "Hee! Are you worried?"

He grinned; Neji managed somehow to give off the impression that he was rolling his eyes without moving them at all. "Vaguely concerned, maybe."

Naruto's grin softened, even though he knew that it wasn't what Neji meant. "Thanks for the trust, then."

Neji frowned a little, but didn't correct him.

"Most of the time there's no problem at all. Just pops up sometimes when I'm real flaming pissed. Got a few weird moments because of instincts and all, but old hag Tsunade promised to make Kiba's family teach me. So I'm fine. It was just a freak accident; it won't happen again."

Neji stared directly at him. "You are sure of that?"

Naruto hesitated. He was, of course, but everyone told him he was too optimistic, and nothing said the old fox didn't have more tricks up his sleeve. "Reasonably so."

They walked in silence once again, Naruto desperately trying not to fret.

"I can live with that," Neji finally replied with a little smirk.

"Oh, good."

They passed a corner, and had to navigate past a gaggle of people. Apparently, stuff was on sale; Naruto glanced at it, but found nothing all that interesting.

"You wouldn't have found me anyway."

Naruto blinked at Neji quizzically.

"After things settled down," the Hyuuga explained. "My team and I were sent on a mission for several weeks, and then as soon as we came back, we left again."

"Oh, okay. Um, did you tell Lee and Tenten?"

Neji speared him with an affronted glare. "It was _classified_."

"All right, all right. I guess... I should tell them. How'd you think they'll react?"

Neji shook his head. "You don't have to. You aren't close to Tenten, as far as I know, and Lee," he added with a weary sigh, "would probably take to proclaiming from the rooftops that he's going to nobly seek justice for you."

Naruto chuckled. "Hah, it wouldn't bother me if he did that. I mean, so long as everyone who matters is alright with it, I really can't be bothered to care about what the rest thinks. Though it means I gotta tell Hinata," he finished with a wince. "It's not fair; you know, Kiba knows... Uh, how do you think she'd react?"

Neji looked up at the sky, as if searching for an answer up there. "...She will not reject you. She might be shocked for a while. She will be sad. She'll empathize." He shrugged. "It is not in her nature to be cruel or judgmental."

Naruto sighed, and relaxed. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks." They were almost at the Administrative building; Naruto paused, grinning at him. "Okay, I gotta go this way."

"The library?" Neji replied, arching his eyebrow again, in that utterly aristocratic-and-sarcastic way that even Sasuke couldn't manage.

"Hey, don't look as if you think I can't read!"

Neji kept staring at him, his damn eyebrow still up. Naruto couldn't do that -- arch just the one and not both. Maybe it was a skill reserved to sarcastic brats.

"... Okay, it's not for me." A pause. "Don't smirk at me."

Neji's expression was smooth and politely empty once again. "I wouldn't dare."

"What's that you say? You want another beating?"

Ahaha, how easy it was to rile him. Now he looked all offended and bristly.

"You wouldn't beat me twice."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto drawled, grinning impishly.

Neji straightened up, looking down his nose at him. "Yes. But I'll prove it to you another time," he added, turning away to leave.

Naruto hummed under his breath. "Scaaredy-caat..."  
  
"What was that?"

"What? I didn't say anything. Are you hearing voices?"

Neji's eyes narrowed; but it didn't hide the corners of his mouth tilting up. "Go and borrow your books, Naruto. And make sure that all the letters in the titles match the ones on your list. I'm sure the librarian will be willing to assist you in case the big words get too complicated. I'll find you later."

Laughing, Naruto waved at Neji as he disappeared within the building, and then went to the library.

He was going to check out some basic titles, and then he was going to use his marvelous pranking skills and slip into the restricted sections for the ones that would make too many people raise eyebrows. He didn't want to bother making a formal request, and especially not on Sasuke's behalf; it would already look weird for Naruto to want stuff he wasn't even expected to understand, but for Sasuke to start researching that kind of arcane things... heh.

And if the Hokage was still distracted by Sakura...

It was a good thing the ANBU weren't watching him today. And it was even better that he still remembered how he'd slipped past the Sandaime's security to get that forbidden scroll five years ago.

+

Once he was done with the library, Naruto strolled into the Hokage's tower, casually waving hello to the guards at the bottom of the stairs. They didn't stop him. They never did unless Tsunade had specifically requested not to be disturbed; and even then she had to add "on pain of death" to make them try with any real conviction. He guessed that being known as Tsunade's Official Likeable Annoyance had its perks.

He passed a few people in the corridors, but at this hour, everyone was working. The door to Tsunade's office was closed; he could hear voices in the other room that she used to stock medical stuff and books and scrolls.

Well, damn; that was where he needed to be. He still remembered where she had made him and Sasuke put away stuff during one of their D-rank missions, and the scroll in question was memorable; he'd used its illustrations to gross out Sasuke. Once he was in the file room, he could find the scroll quickly, provided the old hag hadn't arranged everything all over again. But if she was in the file room -- damn it. And he couldn't really come back in the middle of the night when she was gone.

He was still hesitating over the road to take when Sakura's voice rang out. "Yes? You can come in, you know."

With a guilty start, Naruto reached for the half-open door, and grinned at her as he popped his head in. "Hi, Sakura-chan!"

"Oh --"

"Sakura? Who's here?" Tsunade asked, her voice muffled by the closed door to her private file room.

"It's Naruto, Hokage-sama," Sakura called back before turning to smile back at him. She still looked kind of puzzled, though. "What are you doing here?"

... Okay, keep as close to the truth as possible... "Bah, Sasuke sent me to get him stuff because he's too lazy to move his ass, and I decided that he could wait a bit while I said hello."

Sakura wasn't really telling them much about her special training, so he looked curiously at her workspace. She was standing in front of a low table with squiggly markings painted on it; there was a dead, tail-less lizard belly-up right in the middle. There were other critters in jars and aquariums lined up along one of the ends of the table; Naruto stepped closer to peer at them.

"Eww, gross," he commented cheerfully. "Sakura-chan, the mad scientist. So what are you doing, sticking fish fins on its tail stump?"

She rolled her eyes at him, though her attention was back on the lizard, and her hands had started glowing green again. "Shh. If you can't stay quiet--"

"--I'll boot you out," finished Tsunade as she emerged from the file room, startling him into nervous laughter. "I might even boot you out right now if you don't stop distracting her. Sakura?"

Sakura was biting her lip, frowning in concentration. "Still holding it, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Second stage now," Tsunade ordered as she dumped a pile of scrolls on her desk and turned briefly to go close the door of the file room.

Naruto was too busy staring at the scroll he wanted -- right under the new pile of scrolls! Damn it! -- to pay much attention to Sakura's second stage.

Which was why he missed the start of Sakura's sudden lunge, and why the feel of a cool, squirming body zipping up his neck and into his hair made him scream like a little girl.

Then, of course, he lost his balance because he'd been in the middle of an about-face to look at Sakura, and her desperate grab for the suddenly very alive lizard only managed to put him even more off-balance.

"... Ow."

"You're picking that up, Naruto," Tsunade informed him wearily, as he sat up against the foot of the desk and rubbed at his bruised hip. Naruto groaned, glaring at all the stuff he had managed to knock off the desk on his way down -- oh. Oh. Oh, _yeah_.

"Wait -- are you hurt? Let me see," Sakura asked, pushing away from the table on which she had sprawled and circling it.

Hee, she was so sweet, it was just a bruise, but getting her healing hands on his body -- wait, ack, no! She would see what he was doing!

"Nah, nah, it's alright, Sakura-chan, I'm already all better. Really."

He grinned -- a bit nervously -- at her over the edge of the desk, and turned away to pick up the scrolls, his heart speeding up. Tsunade was still watching from the other side with her hands on her hips, disgruntled; but with a little luck -- now where had the green scroll gone?

"Hurry up, you lazy brat."

"I'd be faster if your office wasn't full of other stuff! How am I supposed to know what was already on the floor or not?" he grouched back, crawling around to hunt down the scrolls.

"Well then, if the state of my office offends you so much, I'm sure you won't mind coming back tomorrow to clean it," Tsunade retorted, eyeballing him rather evilly.

Naruto wilted. "That's not fair!"

"Sure it is," Tsunade replied with a smug smile. "You mentioned it first. Now hurry up a bit."

Grumbling under his breath, he started looking around again, stuffing more scrolls in his arm as he went.

There, green scroll! He crawled closer -- guhh, please make them not notice --

"The lizard!" Sakura dove under her table to catch the -- now tail-sporting -- reptile. Naruto thanked the deities watching over him and picked up the scroll, moving to slip it in his jacket.

There was another green scroll hiding behind a pile of paperwork. Same white and gold edges; the rope holding it closed was pale brown instead of white and he couldn't remember which was the right one. Ohfuckdamnit.

"Put them down, you're going to drop them, trying to hold so many at once," Tsunade commented as she swooped down and negligently picked up the second green scroll.

"... Aha, Uzumaki Naruto would never be so --" ... so... ick. Why did his usual automatic boasting have to fail him now, whyyy?

"Clumsy?" Tsunade replied, smirking just a little bit.

Pouting, Naruto got up and went to dump his armful on the Hokage's desk. He could feel the first scroll slip down his vest and settle against his belly. Did it look weird? He couldn't glance down to check -- maybe he could touch? Be discreet -- but he'd been turned away too long. Pasting another grin on his face, he turned to face them, and prayed for the scroll not to show.

"So, when will you be done with Sakura-chan?"

Sakura was busy stuffing the lizard in a glass jar with a grim smile on her lips; she didn't pay him much attention, apart from a quick smile at her name.

"Let me see the lizard first," Tsunade asked, reaching out to take the jar from the girl.

Naruto leaned closer, poking at the glass curiously. "Did you bring it back to life or what? I thought it was dead... Oh hey, it was missing its tail, wasn't it?"

Sakura huffed in a 'You're stupid' way, but she was also grinning, so he just grinned back.

"I was trying to combine holding a forced hibernation with regenerating a missing bit. Of course, with such a small animal, it's easier, and lizard tails naturally regenerate, so it was more of a matter of giving his body a nudge, but I think I've found the trick now. Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade peered at the lizard for a few seconds longer, then nodded. "Indeed. It's almost time for my next appointment, so I'll let you go now." She rolled her eyes. "No doubt Naruto will make himself a nuisance and you won't accomplish anything anyway."

"Hey, I wouldn't!" Naruto protested.

Tsunade wasn't listening to him; she was still talking with Sakura. "Don't forget to practice that trick during your meditation -- three hours tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto waved and started toward the door as Sakura bowed to Tsunade. The second he was out of sight, he had a hand up his jacket, and the green scroll safely tucked away in one of his inner pockets with the other scrolls he'd borrowed from the library. When Sakura joined him in the corridor, he was able to smile much more naturally.

"What's that trick about?"

"Oh -- you have to split your chakra and maintain perfect control over two unstable jutsus at the same time; it's complicated."

"You can't put someone to sleep, and then do your second jutsu?"

"No, they're not long action -- I mean," she added as she caught his puzzled blink, "if you stop paying attention and maintaining your hold, the jutsu stops. And it's easy to make a reptile hibernate; they just wake up so easily. But it's going to be much harder to do that with mammals; they're not supposed to have their temperature change so much... I'll have to monitor that, too, once I have the basic trick ingrained..."

He listened to her as she delved into the mysteries of healing techniques he had never heard of. He didn't understand the first thing about any of it, but she sounded so animated, so passionate.

"That sounds great!" he enthused. "Bet not everyone can do it."

Sakura's cheeks pinked a bit, and Naruto snickered when she couldn't hold in a proud, superior grin. He liked seeing her so confident. "Oh, probably not. The control demanded is too precise for lots of medic-nins, not to mention the general population."

"Does it need lots and lots of chakra?"

Sakura's smile dimmed. "Not a lot, no. Maybe about three to four kawarimi for now."

"Oh. But with mammals it will be harder, right?" he asked again; he wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, but he wanted to see her superior grin again.

"Well... Yes, a bit. It also depends on the size of the animal... But my chakra control is getting a lot more precise, so I'll manage."

She didn't look as happy this time, and Naruto didn't understand why it hadn't worked right away. Then it dawned, bit by bit. "I thought you were only training for quantity...?"

Sakura's shoulders slumped, and she gave him an unconvincing smile. "We train a lot for that, too, but no one can train on one thing only for weeks and weeks -- well, maybe you can, Mister Simple-minded, but I need a change of pace sometimes."

Naruto squeaked in indignation. "Sakura-chan! How could you call me that?"

She blinked at him, a picture of innocence itself. "What, single-minded? You are! It's a good thing, too, being capable of so much concentration and determination..."

"Simple! You said simple!" Naruto protested loudly, pointing at her. He grabbed at his heart when she chuckled, stepping away from her. "Cruel!"

"Aw, it's a good thing not to be complicated. At least you never worry yourself sick over things, it must be nice..."

Naruto stepped closer again, peering at her in concern. "Yeah, and then when I get in trouble, I don't have a clue how it happened." Not that it bugged him, because he always found a way to get past it. Or get over it. But it wasn't a way of thinking that would fit her anyway; after all, she had so much to lose and, most of the time, he had nowhere to go but up. "Sakura-chan..."

"Ah, don't worry, I just like to fret. I'm sure everything will turn out all right."

He reached out to touch her arm, and when she tried to smile again, he took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Hey, that's my line."

Sakura sighed, shoulders slumping a little, and squeezed his hand back. "You're nice..."

Naruto shook his head, moving in front of her, and stared at her. "No, really, everything will turn out all right. We're going to fix it."

Sakura paused, staring at him. Naruto didn't smile back, or not a lot; he didn't want her to think he was joking to make her feel better. No, he was serious, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Well, technically, he wasn't going to let Sasuke let anything happen to her, but that was the same thing.

"How... How can you be so _sure_? There's no magic shortcut to make it all better, no amazing jutsu you can master in three days to defeat the problem--"

"Hah!" he exclaimed, cutting her off. Sure there was -- oops.

She stared at him, green eyes a little wide and a lot incredulous.

"... Naruto?"

"Err, yes, Sakura-chan?" he replied, grinning nervously, and winced as her eyes narrowed and she peered at him like she hadn't seen him in years.

"Is that... Naruto?" He saw her swallow, rub her hands over her thighs nervously. "Is that what Sasuke-kun is doing?"

Naruto winced. Damn it! He wasn't supposed to tell her anything about it before they were reasonably sure that it was possible! Sasuke would be so pissed if Naruto told her now -- but she needed to know, she was so worried and it was her health after all, Sasuke would understand --

She waved it off when he was still in the process of opening his mouth. "Ah -- no, never mind, pretend I didn't say anything."

"But, Sakura-chan--"

She bit her lip, whispered, "Sasuke-kun asked me to trust him. And it wouldn't be fair to you to make you talk... Just -- promise me you'll tell me as soon as you can. Alright? Promise me."

Naruto nodded, unable to look up at her. "I promise."

They stood face to face in silence, until a housewife bustled by, tsk-ing at them. Naruto jumped aside to let her past, blushing a little. "Um. So. Let's go -- is Ino waiting for you again?"

She relaxed a little as they started walking again, enough to smile more naturally. "Ah, I'm not going to Ino's today. Well, not right away... I'm going to have dinner with my parents first, and then I'll go back."

"Oh, alright... Hey, Sakura?" He ruffled his hair nervously, and looked up at the graying sky. "Why don't you move back in with your parents? I thought you were getting tired of bugging Ino's family..."

"Heh. No, it's alright; I'd like to live with you two better, is all."

"But you're not angry at your parents anymore, right? So..."

"Well, no, but if I came back, they'd want it to be for good, and then it would be a miniature drama all over again when I move out. At least like this I can wean us all slowly, do you see?"

Naruto scratched his head quizzically. "Not really, no. If you liked living with them, and they're not forbidding you to ever come back..."

"Oh, Naruto..."

Okay, what had he done to prompt that sympathetic look and sudden handholding? He was a bit confused. He squeezed back, anyway, interlacing their fingers, laughing a little at his own clumsiness.

"It's just that... I left; I'm an adult now. I'm not their little girl anymore. I'm still their daughter, and I know I'll always be welcome, but... I just don't want to come back with my tail between my legs."

Naruto grinned, swinging their joined hands. "And you say that Sasuke's got more pride than common sense."

"I've never said that!" she replied, offended. Naruto just stared at her, trying very hard not to snigger. "Okay... I might have thought it. A few times."

"Uh huh. 'Course, Sakura-chan. Sasuke is soo perfect."

She sniffed disdainfully, chin up. "Well, he is."

He hadn't been laughing more than three seconds when she joined him. He gave her hand a squeeze, deliriously happy; she still wasn't pulling away, and here they were, laughing together as they strolled down the street.

"This feels kind of like a date, doesn't it?"

She blushed. "That -- Naruto, we're just walking, my parents are waiting..."

"So? It's a walk date. A tiny one." He looked at her, hopeful; she seemed so unsure, he was afraid she'd say no. Maybe it was too soon for her to want to be romantic one-on-one with him...

When she finally nodded, with a put-upon sigh and laughing green eyes, he did a little dance of joy in the middle of the street.

"You're so silly," she giggled, and then he was kissing her and he wasn't sure how it had happened. She didn't shove him off; he lingered. Her lips were soft, and she smelled of flowers and pears. ...And ozone and chloroform. After an afternoon manipulating raw chakra and doing weird stuff to helpless animals, it shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Um."

They blinked together, nose to nose.

"Er. Hi?"

"... Dork."

Naruto pouted, with some difficulty. He wanted to smile more. "You're so cruel to me."

"Yes, I am an evil, cruel witch," Sakura replied lightly, tugging on his hand as she started walking again, slowly.

Naruto hummed a little song until the next crossroad. Yep, this was a date all right. A short one, but whatever. He just needed to find something to make it a bit more official. Food was probably out...

"Oh hey, look!" he exclaimed, pointing at a shop window. "That would look pretty good, don't you think so?"

Sakura gave him a weird look as he pulled her toward the shop. "You want to wear a dress?"

"Haha! No, on you, I meant."

Sakura blushed. "Don't be silly! It's cut way too low in front."

Naruto leered. "How is that a problem again?"

"Pervert." Sakura swatted at him; he rubbed his shoulder with a grin and pressed close to the glass again, looking for the price tag.

"How is it perverted to want my girlfriend to wear pretty stuff? It's not even sleazy, just a little more cleavage than you usually show." ... Bit expensive, though, especially with the state of his finances at the moment. Damn.

And Sakura hadn't hit him yet for that comment. He blinked at her, wondering if he had said something wrong. She was red and wide-eyed again, fidgeting with the hem of her tunic.

"You -- hah, it figures that you know exactly how much cleavage I usually show."

Naruto gave her the wobbliest puppy eyes he could. "Yeah, and that's 'not at all', unless it's warm enough for you to pull down your zipper a bit."

"That's -- I -- Naruto, you're a lecher."

... She was still not hitting him. And the accusation had lacked conviction. How strange. "Sakura-chan...?"

"Besides I don't have anything special to show, anyway!" she blurted out, and then looked away in embarrassment.

Naruto stepped away from the window, confused. "Uh. Sakura?"

"Come on, let's go, it's starting to rain."

"What?" he replied dumbly. Sure, the air was getting a bit cool, but it was still comfortable; the problem was that she wasn't looking at him.

"If I tell you that I like your boobs just fine, will you hit me?"

She glared at him -- or pouted maybe. "You like them just because you've got a shot at getting your hands on them. I wonder why you like me, I mean, I'm not your usual type."

Naruto stumbled after her as she dragged him down the street, bewildered. "I dunno, because I love you? And they're Sakura breasts, so they're immediately superior. I mean, Sasuke breasts would rank pretty high, too, but mostly because they'd crack me up so hard."

Sakura stopped so sharply that he bumped into her. She looked like she didn't know if she should laugh or be disturbed. "What's with you and putting breasts on Sasuke? The other day, already..."

"Come on, isn't that the most hilarious idea ever?"

Sakura snickered. "Oh, yes, it's up there with you as a giggling bimbo."

"Hey, that's mean! My jutsu is a ruse, that's all! Unless one of you was interested, but I think Sasuke's scared I'll smother him, so my girl shape is pretty much all yours." He waggled his eyebrows, and dodged a slap to the head with a laugh.

"You really are a total pervert."

"Yep -- ack!" Naruto brushed cold water off his ear, startled. "Hey, it's raining."

"I told you that it was five minutes ago, weren't you listening?"

"It wasn't raining then!" Naruto protested as they started to walk a little faster.

"It just wasn't raining on you!"

In the time it took them to reach the next crossroad, the rain went from a few drops here and there to a regular shower. Sakura was all but running, shoulders hunched, and Naruto couldn't help but be disgruntled. At this rate, they were going to arrive at her parents' way too soon. And on top of that, the stupid rain was ruining the mood. Too bad he didn't own an umbrella -- but there was still other stuff he could do.

"Wait, wait, Sakura-chan!" he called as he unzipped his jacket. One of the scrolls almost fell off as she watched, and he swore. He'd forgotten.

"So that's what you were carrying. They're going to fall, Naruto," she grumbled, a hand over her forehead to keep the rain from getting in her eyes. Her hair was stuck in damp tendrils to her neck, and her shirt was sleeveless. He wasn't really worried she'd catch a cold, but still, it was probably uncomfortable.

"No, no, they won't!" He stuck the scrolls deeper into the inner pockets, and then pulled his jacket over his head, stretching out his arm to give her some shelter.

She didn't move, staring at him.

"... What, do I have something on my face? Come on, you're getting all wet." He stepped toward her, moving to encompass her, and then realized fully that to be close enough to shield her from the rain, he had to be close enough that he could feel her body heat against his whole chest.

He was so busy patting himself on the back for that smooth move, that it took him a few minutes to notice how badly she was blushing and avoiding looking his way. And then a few seconds longer to get why.

Note to self, buy more mesh shirts.

"So, um. Are those scrolls what you were getting for Sasuke?"

"Hm? Ah -- yeah." he grinned, and hoped that she wouldn't recognize the green one. "I hope I got everything on his list, but his writing looks like chicken scratch, and they've all got fancy kanji."

She hummed thoughtfully, still not looking his way. "He must be very busy..."

"I thought you weren't going to ask anymore?" Naruto groused, secretly amused.

"Okay, okay, sorry."

Naruto gave her an awkward hug, and then had to steer her away from a little dog on a leash when she got blinded by the folds of his jacket. "Oops!"

In the end, he decided, the rain didn't make this much less of a date, because she was laughing as she leaned against his side, tucking herself under his arm, while his jacket and the rain blocked out the world around them until it was just the two of them.

"I don't really need to ask," Sakura whispered a minute later. Naruto had to rack his brain to remember what she was talking about.

"Oh, neat. Wait, you don't?"

She looked up at him, and her face was so close he was tempted to kiss her again, and to hell with their conversation. But he wanted to make sure that she knew they were doing everything in their power to help her, so he waited.

"I'm not stupid. You don't want to tell me because you don't want to give me any false hopes, and Sasuke doesn't want to tell me because I'd probably shoot it down."  
  
Naruto was aware that his guilty silence said more than words would have, but he couldn't find a good enough lie. "Um, but if it works, why would you shoot it down?"

Sakura gave him a sidelong glance. "Well, duh! If you two found a way to do it that Tsunade-sama didn't even consider, it must be because it's utterly crazy."

Naruto winced.

"Or forbidden."

Naruto coughed and made sure to look where he was stepping with all due attention. Oh hey, they were turning into the Harunos' street now.

"...Or both."

"Oh god, Sasuke is going to kill me," Naruto whimpered.

Sakura grinned at him suddenly, startling him; he'd been excepting an angry tirade. "Why would he? It's his fault I guessed. He was the one asking me to trust him and wait. Why would he do that for anything else? There's nothing else he would need to hide from me but not from you, is there? Well, nothing so serious."

"You know, you're really too smart sometimes. But seriously, it's Sasuke's fault? Hah!" Naruto did a little dance, which ended up forcing Sakura to stumble after him, seeing as her head was caught in his jacket.

"Naruto!" she protested, glaring daggers at him. "I lied, it's all your fault."

"Hey, not fair!"

"Yes, fair, you're so transparent."

"And you're so mean, I wonder why -- eek!"

They had been maybe three houses away from her parents' home. Now they were in the narrow passage between two buildings, stumbling over each other. It was dark and damp and the bricks were rough under his palms, and one of his sleeves was covering his eye and Sakura's arms were around his waist.

Oh.

"... Hi, there."

She smiled at him in the dark, and pushed the dangling sleeve away from his face gently. "Dork."

And then there was kissing, with lips brushing and breaths mingling, and her body against his, all warm and soft and welcoming, and her hands rubbing up and down his back, and yes, yes, definitely buy more mesh shirts. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, protecting her head from the wall; his other hand caressed her arm as they kept giving each other soft, teasing kisses.

"You're gonna be late," he whispered as she nibbled his lower lip.

"Hokage-sama let me out early -- then we ran..." He nibbled back; she gasped and giggled softly. "I think we've got some time."

"Oh, good," he groaned before leaning against her and tightening his hold. He hadn't gotten to make out with her in -- had he ever gotten to make out with her? They'd kissed, and cuddled, and there had been some fleeting caresses...

Every time her hand ran back up his spine, he wanted to arch, and purr. He groaned instead, low, deep in his throat; she sighed, shivering as she arched into him. Her waist was so slim, one arm was enough to catch her. He curled around her, enfolding her in his arms as he nuzzled her cheek, mouthed her neck.

He caressed her hips when she started caressing the small of his back, and when she jumped at the first touch against her butt, his hands retreated quickly. He was going to die if she decided to end things there. It was only when she pressed their hips together, fingers playing with the hem of his back pocket, that he dared to touch her again. Hips, outsides of her thighs... back of her thighs... still no protest? He cupped her butt with both hands, groaning when he felt her fingers slipping under his waistband and teasing his skin, and couldn't help but grin into the kiss as he remembered how different Sasuke's ass felt.

He would certainly never grope Sakura's butt hard enough to bruise, but petting and stroking it gently were more than rewarding enough, especially when she moaned quietly against his neck and arched into him like that -- ohh, hips-to-hips friction...

And then she was giggling against his shoulder, and he couldn't help but laugh with her, even though he didn't know why.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Is that --" a snicker, "Is that a scroll in your pocket..."

"Oh, that's so lame even I wouldn't say it!" Naruto retorted, chortling along with her. "Dork yourself."

"No, you're the dork."

"No, you -- mmh."

She wasn't going to distract him with tongue. He was -- what was he saying again? Oh yeah. He was a dork. Mm, French kissing. Mm, her belly against his groin... MmACK! One of the stupid scrolls had just fallen in a puddle. Swearing, he twisted to pick it up before it was drenched, and then gave Sakura an apologetic look. She was flushed, her eyes dark and her lips red, so instead of apologizing out loud, he just kissed her again.

They ended up cuddling against the wall, with him still curled around Sakura, and the rain still dripping over Naruto's jacket. He still had a hard-on, but it only made the moment better. Of course, later on, when he would leave unsatisfied, he wouldn't think the same; oh well.

"Why did we never do this before?" he mused, eyes closed in pleasure as he played with her damp hair.

There was a moment where the only noises were the rain and their breaths, and then Sakura whispered, "I didn't want things to change."

"... Eh?"

"It wasn't really voluntary..."

"Well, I hope not," he replied confused.

She sighed, burrowing in his arms. He rubbed her back, waiting for the rest of the explanation.

"I wouldn't have really tried to get out of a situation like this... But i wasn't looking for them either. It's a nice change, but in my head it probably was just one too many. So... I'm sorry, Naruto."

"... Ah. I see." Well, he hadn't really pushed things along all that much either, but they'd been busy, and then things had fallen into a semi-comfortable routine. He would have been happy with more sex, but he hadn't died from a lack of it. Though... On second thought, it might have made Sasuke mellow enough to be tolerable. Well, damn. "So you feel really guilty and you'll make out with me a lot to compensate, right?"

She glowered at him, pouting, and then she nipped his chin and snickered. "You're incorrigible."

"But you like me anyway."

He was expecting a laugh, some teasing maybe; instead, she nodded and tucked her head under his chin.

They cuddled a little while longer, holding on a little tighter every time one of them shivered from a gust of damp air, or a drop of water down their shirts; but when the rain stopped, there was really no choice but to disengage.

"I'm going to be late now," Sakura whispered as she stood back, holding his hands between their bodies.

"You won't get in trouble?"

"No, Hokage-sama keeps me later sometimes. But..."

"... Yeah. So, um, you're going now?"

"No. Now you're walking me home. Some date you are," she added, teasing. She was blushing, too, so he didn't mind. Smiling -- he didn't think the smile was going to come off anytime soon -- he put his jacket back on and followed her back out of the narrow passage, and held her hand for the whole three houses' length there was left to her door.

He had a feeling her father knew what they'd just been up to, and was really glad that he had the excuse of having to go back to Sasuke's; the invitation to dinner was really nice, but it was hard to be comfortable with a man when you had just made out with his daughter all but under his window.


	7. 7 - Inutile Interrupting Interlude (Kakashi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I'm going to mess up my chapter order, I'm going to do it in style! X'D This is a missing scene from Naruto's chapter, mostly because he was nowhere near that place when it happened. It's not really necessary to his chapter, though it does shed some light on some of Sasuke's behavior, but hey! Kakashi insisted.

If Sasuke had been a little more patient, Kakashi would have been gone by the time he broke into his apartment; but Sasuke being who he was, Kakashi was still in the bathroom when he heard his student fiddle with the lock. Kakashi took the time to finish washing his hands, and then opened the bathroom door, leaned against the doorframe and gave him a lenient nod of greeting.

"Sasuke. Is there something I can do for you?"

If one day he decided to ditch the mask, Kakashi thought absently as he watched Sasuke switch gears and spin a -- rather convincing -- lie on the spot, he would have to learn to control his facial features all over again. It was just too easy to grin behind it. As it was, the mask obscured his features enough that Sasuke couldn't tell whether or not Kakashi had swallowed his excuse, and that was always amusing.

"More difficult jutsu, huh." Kakashi hummed thoughtfully as he stepped toward his coffee table. He started to fold his clothes negligently. "You don't mean A and S-rank jutsu, do you? You know I have to submit those to approval before I can teach them." He didn't add 'to you'. Most teachers were free, and even encouraged, to transmit any jutsu they knew to their pupils; but this was one of the restrictions against Sasuke that had never been officially raised.

Though sometimes he just happened to use one when Sasuke just happened to have his sharingan activated; if he hadn't, he was pretty sure Sasuke would be long gone. But there were some jutsu that no one would ever accept he'd 'just happened' anything with.

Sasuke's annoyance at the reminder wasn't faked, at least. There was a darker edge to it; Kakashi didn't know what it was from, but he could make an educated guess. Sasuke didn't like knowing that his people were vulnerable any more than Kakashi did.

"I know," Sasuke replied, and looked away.

Kakashi watched for a few seconds, as the young man stood tensely by his door, and then he sighed. "Ahh. Of course, of course. Nothing but the best for my cute little student," he added facetiously.

Sasuke slanted him a cynical look. "You know, calling us cute was already creepy when we were kids, but now it's downright disturbing."

Kakashi smiled genially, and stacked up his shirts, humming. "Is it? I would have thought it would be the other way around."

"...You like those 'Paradise' rags too much to be a pedophile," Sasuke retorted.

"Oi, oi. I buy them for the engaging storyline and brilliant prose."

He managed to pull a snort out of Sasuke, which really wasn't too bad these days.

"...I'll put in the request tomorrow."

Sasuke nodded. When he looked away from Kakashi, Kakashi took it as 'I would thank you if I knew how, but that would imply acknowledging that you're going out of your way for me'. Kakashi returned to his folding casually as a 'you're welcome'.

And Sasuke was still standing by the door, tense and visibly reviewing his options.

"Come in, come in. I'd offer you some tea, but I don't have any. Tap water?"

"I'm alright." Sasuke gave him a dubious look and ventured deeper into Kakashi's tiny apartment.

"So what brings you? For real this time." Kakashi wondered if Sasuke was going to tell the truth. Well, a truth, at least.

Though even if he did, Kakashi doubted it would be the main reason behind his presence here.

Sasuke twitched, probably considered playing stupid, and eventually shrugged it off. If he hadn't wanted anything else other than the jutsu, he would be long gone already and they both knew it. "... Just wondering where we're going to find a place, but you don't look like a realtor to me."

Interesting how Sasuke ordered the importance of his secrets. He already knew what Kakashi had to say on the subject of housing, and he knew he wasn't going to like hearing it again; but misdirections were better when they were also true.

So Kakashi played along. "I thought you already had a place, Sasuke."

Beside him, Sasuke went still. Kakashi picked up his clothes and started putting them away in the dresser to offer him some privacy.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sasuke paused; tried again. "Why do you want me to go back there?"

"Do I?" Kakashi kept refolding his shirts and putting them away, with a care they hadn't known since leaving the shop he'd bought them from. "I just assumed you would, eventually. You wouldn't want your many children to grow up in a tiny apartment, would you?"

"Many?" Sasuke repeated disbelievingly. "You're making it sound like Sakura is going to have a litter."

"Heh. You'd make a wonderful father of twelve, I'm sure." Kakashi smiled teasingly over his shoulder, and then sobered up slightly. "I just have some trouble seeing you raising your children and grandchildren in some overpopulated downtown building."

Sasuke was quiet a while longer; Kakashi wondered if he had pushed too hard. No doubt the brat had never really envisioned his future that far.

"That... Yes. You're right." Sasuke's voice was a little too soft; Kakashi didn't turn back, even though he was now down to ordering his socks according to size. "I would have gone back anyway."

"It isn't a bad place to live," Kakashi continued casually. "Spacious. Pleasant. Peaceful. Easily defendable. And it has nice trees, too."

Kakashi knew what made Sasuke start, and it wasn't the trees. He puttered a few seconds longer, and then turned back around. By then, Sasuke's expression was cool and collected once again.

"That's a valid suggestion, I guess. I'll think about it." Sasuke straightened up, his bearing arrogant and self-assured once again, and nodded at Kakashi. "Thank you, sensei."

Kakashi waved goodbye casually as Sasuke turned and left, and then he stepped up to his bookcase and chuckled at the artful way the volumes had been spread, so they'd cover the hole the missing one had left. Cheeky little brat.


	8. 8 - The Seal (Naruto)

Naruto arrived back home only to trip on a box, and barely managed to hang onto the door by the tips of his fingers.

"Ack!"

He stared at the box, confused. It was full of his things : weapon cleaning kit, an old kunai pouch, a wad of explosive tag paper, his frog wallet, and other odds and ends which had progressively spilled from his bags onto the floor around the couch. For a moment, he thought...

"...Sasuke?" he called, staring at the box. It was brown, cardboard, and very unassuming.

"We're moving. Did you get the scrolls?"

We. Naruto relaxed. We. Whatever it was, it was alright -- waitasec. "Ah -- yeah, yeah, I got them. We're moving?"

Sasuke was in the kitchen, stacking up pots and pans. "Yes. Your scrolls and weapons are in there. I washed your pile of dirty clothes along with some of mine; they're drying."

"Oh. Okay," he replied amiably. "Uh, by the way, Sasuke, _what the fuck_?"

"Did you go deaf?" Sasuke retorted, rolling his eyes at Naruto before turning away again.

"Did you go _crazy_? I leave for a few hours and when I come back, we're in the middle of moving? I thought we agreed that there weren't any good places in the paper!"

Sasuke grunted, and wound a length of wire through the biggest pot's handles to keep the little pots inside. "We're going to the Uchiha compound."

Oh, alright, that made perfect sense. _Not_. Just the other day, Sasuke had had a massive breakdown about that stupid compound, and now he wanted to go back? Naruto admitted that living there -- in one of the houses that weren't burned to the ground, that is -- would be the easiest way, but after due thought... The last time they'd been inside the district's walls, Sasuke had lost it. Naruto wasn't willing to stay there if it put his teammate on edge. "... You hit your head, didn't you?"

"Naruto, shut up, and go get blankets. They're in the closet in my bedroom."

"What the hell! No, I'm not your lackey."

Sasuke hissed between his clenched teeth, as if forcing himself to breathe out because Naruto was Just. That. Annoying.

Like Sasuke wasn't the one willfully being an ass!

"Fine, stay here, I don't care. I've warned the landlord that I'm not renewing the lease, though, so you have ten days left before you have to find somewhere else to stay."

Naruto stood there and watched him, fists balled at his sides, unable to believe it. "You... You utter _asshole_."

Sasuke barely grunted in acknowledgment, and opened a closet in the corridor. Naruto stalked toward him and slammed the door closed under his nose, hand firmly set in the middle of the panel. "Don't you think maybe you should consult other people before you make that kind of decision?! You want to move, so we both have to move? What the hell, I live here, too!"

Sasuke closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose; Naruto wanted to hit him, all the good humor from his date with Sakura evaporated. How dare Sasuke act like Naruto was the one behaving like an unreasonable, irrational ass?

"You're missing the point."

"Well, then, _tell_ me the point, instead of assuming that I can read your twisted brain and immediately know what the hell you're on about! When I left, you were just fine staying here! You didn't seem to even want to leave the apartment unless there was a fire or something! And now you want something else and I should just have guessed--"

Sasuke hissed again, and finally turned to face him. "Shut up, Naruto! It's not about what I want. It's about _what we need_. And right now, we need more space." He gave a long, meaningful look at the pockets full of scrolls Naruto had stolen from the restricted section and the Hokage. "And fewer neighbors."

"... Oh." Naruto pushed away from the closet to free Sasuke, still pouting. "Would it have been it so hard to tell me first, instead of just -- argh. You're annoying."

He stomped into Sasuke's bedroom, throwing open the closet doors to dig out the blankets. He figured that they'd be camping out for a few days, or something. There was a sleeping bag, too, but it seemed a bit old, and anyway they had the ones they used on missions.

He wasn't sure he liked the idea of Sasuke going back to the Uchiha district so soon, but if Sasuke said he could, then the only thing calling him on it would bring would be broken bones. And the jerk had lived there from age eight to thirteen, after all, and he hadn't died or anything.

Wait, it had ended with the Orochimaru fiasco.

But if Sasuke said he could... Rrrrgh. Hn. Whatever. Naruto bet no one like the amazing Uzumaki Naruto had ever lived inside the Uchiha district's walls. He would totally make it non-gloomy enough for the three of them.

Four of them, maybe.

... Damn, it was hard to stay angry when he was reminded of that little detail. Hugest little detail in the world, that was. Still pouting a bit, on principle, he picked up a huge armful of blankets and stomped outside, giving Sasuke a resentful look as he capitulated. "... Fine, fine. Whatever. Still, we could have talked about it first."

"What for? It was the only viable decision."

Oh, he was so -- so -- ARGH! "There are days I really hate your guts, you know."

Naruto piled his blankets on the kitchen counter. By the table, Sasuke was surveying the stuff he'd packed critically. Naruto could see cleaning products in there, amongst the pans and food and toilet paper; he couldn't help but snicker a bit.

"It's a good thing you're such a perfect little housewife, or I might divorce you."

Sasuke glared at him, but didn't snap back with whatever insult he'd had in mind. Damn. It wasn't funny when Sasuke pulled the 'more mature than you' card.

"Housewife nothing; you're the one who's going to be cleaning out the house this evening. I have to read the scrolls you brought."

"Oi! That's not fair!"

Sasuke sighed. "Stop whining and get your traveling bag. We're just camping out for tonight; we'll make trips back and forth tomorrow for the rest."

Good to know that Naruto could still predict Sasuke some of the time. "Well, since you've got it all planned out, your Majesty. Got a house in mind?"

"...Yes, actually. The house seemed in good condition the last time I saw it; it should be livable."

They picked up everything -- the traveling backpacks, the additional blankets, the cooking utensils and food -- then Naruto went out and waited for Sasuke to lock the door. They were loaded down like pack mules; one of the neighbors stared at them as they trudged down the stairs. Naruto grinned back; the old man looked away with a huff.

"So, what made you decide to move so fast?" he asked Sasuke as they made their way through Konoha.

Sasuke shrugged, looking away. "Something I found in one of Kakashi's books. The phases of the moon matter, apparently, and I don't want to waste a month."

Naruto blinked. "That's weird -- wait, figures. 'He' did say Sakura only had three days to choose whether to keep the child or not because it was the full moon soon, or something." It was strange to think that it had only been two months since that night; it felt like forever, and those few days had been so frantic, so full of life-changing events. "Does it matter for real? I didn't think jutsus worked like that..."

Sasuke frowned, and gave the street around them a suspicious look. "I'm not giving you a lesson in elemental resonance now." Naruto heard the unspoken 'in the middle of the street'. "Just think of it as an extension of the rule that makes it easier to use Suiton jutsus in areas where there's water close by."

Naruto scratched his head, almost let the blankets drop, and caught them again with a sheepish wince. "But Moon isn't an element."

"Mmh. But it -- 'che." Now Sasuke looked bothered, as if he didn't know where to start.

"Yeah, maybe you should discuss that with Sakura-chan," Naruto commiserated, and gave Sasuke a 'what can you do' smile and a shrug. It was disappointing to want to understand something, for once, and to know that he didn't have the right level of knowledge for even the basics, but... Naruto didn't think himself stupid -- he got great ideas regularly, and no one had ever accused him of learning a hard jutsu too slowly... well, not recently -- but he wasn't an academic either, so maybe it really was a waste of time to explain it to him.

"Oh, yeah. Mind copying the stuff you need quickly? I'll replace the old hag's scroll tomorrow... Provided it's the right one."

"What do you mean, provided it's the right one? I thought you remembered what it looked like."

"Yeah, but there were two alike and then they all fell, so I grabbed the closest one, but I'm not sure it's the right one. Either way, she's gonna notice soon."

Sasuke's scowl deepened, but in the end he shrugged. "Fine, fine. I shouldn't need to keep it that long. Kakashi's book gave me a good lead, I just need details..."

Sasuke's voice trailed off as he thought; and then he gave Naruto a sidelong glance. Naruto wondered what he was plotting now.

"You'll put Kakashi's book back, too."

"Oi! What for?"

"I can't show up there two times in a row."

"Ah, and me showing up just after you doesn't look weird -- what does it matter anyway, no one saw you, right?"

Naruto stared in confusion at Sasuke's back as the black-haired boy stalked ahead.

"What? Someone saw you? Hah! Talk about a great ninja; you got caught by one of his neighbors--"

"He wasn't gone," Sasuke muttered through clenched teeth.

"He wasn't? What the heck, I thought he was doing something this afternoon! Something more important than training." Naruto stomped alongside Sasuke, annoyed. It figured that Kakashi would consider lazing around his apartment all afternoon to be more important than training his students.

Sasuke gave him a huff, and looked away, muttering under his breath. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too."

Naruto was tempted to laugh at Sasuke for being caught, but then Sakura and Tsunade had almost caught him, too. Anyway, what was bastard-sensei doing at home that was more important than training, seriously?

Similarly disgruntled, the boys trudged towards the Uchiha compound.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, is it the right scroll?"

"Nope."

"What? You can't be serious. Aw man, of all the days for my luck to run out."

"Eh. Doesn't matter. Turns out I didn't need it after all."

"Wait, _what_?"

"Mmh. Weren't you washing the windows?"

"... That's a big collar you've got there, you know. Say, on a scale of one to ten, how pissed would you be if I lost my grip on the soap just --"

"Naruto!"

"-- now? Hahaha."

"... I'm going to kill you."

"Oi, careful of the books there. Don't--"

"This better not end in a 'drop the soap' joke."

"... Hehe."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If my father catches you here, he'll probably kill you dead first and interrogate your remains later, you know," Ino commented as she leaned lazily over Naruto. Naruto grinned up at her, and shifted his hold on her windowsill.

"Aw, come on, my intentions are honorable and all. Really."

The girl laughed, high and musical, and moved aside, letting Naruto pull the rest of his body up. Dumb anti-chakra sticking stuff on the walls, he'd fallen off once already before he'd managed to get a good grip. He straddled the windowsill and looked inside Ino's bedroom curiously. It was all done in greens and golds, with some pink here and there; and just as full of pretty, breakable things as Sakura's bedroom had been the only time he'd visited. Naruto briefly wondered if Sakura would want to litter their place with tons of glass butterflies and other frou-frous. The thought made him grin stupidly, even with the accompanying image of himself ruining her knickknacks and getting murdered.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. There was a futon spread out beside Ino's bed, but apart from the blonde girl, the room was empty.

"She's in the bathroom. What did you say you... two," Ino added, as she noticed Sasuke standing on the roof facing hers; "...were doing here?"

"Kidnapping, of course!" Naruto retorted with a sly grin. "And if I'm lucky," he added, whispering, "perhaps even some good, old-fashioned molesting."

Ino burst into giggles, and covered her mouth with a hand, the perfect, well-bred lady. "Between you and me, she might need some of that. Come in, before someone notices you."

Naruto hopped inside just as the door opened. Naruto grinned disarmingly. Whether it was Ino's dad or Sakura, looking nice and harmless would help. It was Sakura; the grin became a bit more appreciative when he noticed that she was wearing a large t-shirt, and even bigger, fuzzy sweatpants, and still toweling off her hair. So cute!

"Evening, Sakura-chan!"

She stared at him, pausing in mid-rub. "Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"They're kidnapping you," Ino informed her dutifully, staring at her nails with rapt attention. She wasn't smirking, but from her tone she might as well have been.

"... 'They'?" Sakura repeated as she slowly lowered the towel. "What -- Naruto, it's almost _ten_ in the evening, I'm exhausted..."

A little late on his cue, Sasuke appeared on the windowsill, balanced in a perfect crouch and looking as if he'd always been there. Show-off.

"Pack your things, Sakura."

Sakura goggled at Sasuke, then at Naruto. "But -- what?"

Naruto patted her shoulder consolingly. "Yeah, His Majesty has spoken."

"But I can't just--"

"Aw, come on! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"In bed, and I was hoping to join it soon," she replied acerbically.

"Wah! Sakura-chan has been cheating on us with an anthropomorphic personification of a concept!"

The all stared at him, as if he'd sprouted horns and wings. He grinned his best shit-eating grin right back.

"... You were actually _listening_ to that nonsense on the radio?" Sasuke finally asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It sounded pretty neat," Naruto replied truthfully, and gave him the most innocent look he could manage.

"And how the hell did you remember it? I bet I can't even pronounce it," Ino retorted, disgusted.

"Um. I practiced."

Sakura started laughing along with Ino, and even Sasuke snorted, turning away to hide his amusement. Or maybe it was contempt, but Naruto wanted to be optimistic, and besides, Sasuke tended to mix the two liberally, anyway.

"Dork," Sakura uttered, shaking her head sadly even as she smiled at him.

"Hey!" Naruto protested, for the principle.

"Pack up your stuff, Sakura," Sasuke said again. Naruto couldn't help but notice that with her, the bastard could actually sound like he was making a suggestion and not giving orders. Hn.

"Everything?"

From Sakura's desolate look, she was probably thinking that they were about to run away from Konoha again. Naruto winced, and chuckled ruefully. "Ah, at least enough for tonight and tomorrow. You can come back for the rest tomorrow."

"Alright," Sakura capitulated after a last questioning glance at Sasuke. Crouching, a knee on her futon, she started adding stuff to a little backpack. "I just don't want to leave without saying goodbye to Ino's parents."

"And to me?" Ino asked tartly, and frowned imperiously at the two boys before Sakura could answer. "Where are you taking her anyway? If it isn't a secret..."

"Oh, it's not really a secret," Naruto reassured her.

"Sakura can tell you tomorrow," Sasuke cut him.

Naruto blinked at Sasuke. What the heck; why not now? It wasn't like Ino was going to follow and spy on them, or babble to her parents and send the ANBU after them. The bastard was so damn paranoid.

"... Sasuke-kun?" Sakura looked up at the window.

Sasuke jumped off the windowsill, padded to her silently, not even glancing at Naruto as he brushed past him. Leaning over her, he rested a pale hand on Sakura's hand, the one that was holding up her backpack.

"Do you trust me?" Sasuke asked softly.

Naruto wondered why he was saying that now; it was evident that Sakura was going to trust them until they were safe and could explain, there was no need to ask again.

Sakura was sitting on the edge of the futon, neck arched to gaze up at Sasuke with a look of sudden understanding in her slightly-too-wide eyes. "That -- _now_?"

Sasuke nodded, straightened up, abandoning her hand as if he'd never been touching her of his own will at all. Naruto shuddered, blinking. That -- for a moment, he'd almost felt like he was part of their silent communication. But he hadn't been; and he hadn't been the one Sakura's whole body had been angled toward, in unconscious adoration.

Bah! The bastard hadn't gotten a date with her either. It probably hadn't even occurred to him at all.

Sakura was putting on her sandals quickly, a lot more businesslike now. "I'll see you later, Ino-pig," she assured as she jumped to her feet. "Come on, let's go now."

Then she was hurrying Sasuke to the window and tugging Naruto along by the sleeve.

Naruto was about to jump out after them when Ino's hand caught his other sleeve.

"Naruto?" The blonde girl looked worried. "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you? You and Sasuke really are more trouble than you're worth, sometimes."

Naruto's smile gentled a little. "Nah, relax. The only stupid thing that might happen is those two talking and talking until dawn, and I really want to get some molestation in." With that, he jumped onto the next roof, waving back at Ino, and put on a burst of speed to catch up to his teammates.

  
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Naruto wasn't sure why Sakura was making that wary, pouty face; they'd scrubbed the abandoned Uchiha house clean, in the little time they had before picking her up.

Okay, they'd cleaned up the living room.

Well, the floor and the coffee table weren't too dirty, at any rate. The couch had reeked of mildew and its cushions had been full of mice nests, so they'd pulled it out in the backyard and left it there. Some of the smell lingered despite their best efforts.

Still! It wouldn't be any less comfortable than camping out, and at least they wouldn't get rained on.

... They'd even placed buckets under the leaks in the ceiling.

"Um... Any reason why we're... Here?"

"It has a dojo and no neighbors," Sasuke replied without turning around. He was kneeling by the coffee table, emptying the bag of scrolls and notes. "And the roof is still mostly sound, which isn't the case of many other houses around here," he added with a touch of sarcasm.

Naruto had a feeling that Sakura had been asking what the hell they were doing in the Uchiha district in the first place, even if this house stood almost on the other end of the district from where Sasuke's home had been. He also had a feeling that Sasuke had been fully aware of the nuance. Bah.

"He says we need space to do our thing," Naruto informed Sakura helpfully. "And besides this house could be pretty neat; it just needs a little work."

Sakura gave the moldy walls and the swelled-shut wooden blinds a doubtful look.

"No, seriously, it's got two bathrooms and an attic. And tons of space! We could live here -- or try to," he amended as he caught her expression. "At least until we either fix it or find something better. There would be no rent to pay, and ... We'd have more than enough space to be together," he added, his voice softening unintentionally, and tried not to look too much like he was pleading.

Mollified, she pulled her sleeping bag out of her pack. Naruto's and Sasuke's were folded in two by the coffee table, as seats; she dropped hers facing Sasuke's spot and then sat on it gingerly, watching Sasuke and his notes with trepidation.

"So, what is this grand scheme about?"

Sasuke pushed one of the sheets of paper at her. She picked it up as if it was about to explode. Morbidly curious, Naruto crept closer, taking place on his own sleeping bag at one end of the room.

"I haven't finished the research," Sasuke said quietly as she read.

She blinked, slowly, and looked up at Sasuke as if she had never seen him in her life and wasn't especially thrilled to see him now. "... You want to inject my potentially half-demon child with demon chakra."

"Yes."

"Excuse me, but _are you **crazy**_?"

Naruto winced at her incredulous tone. "Well, it was my idea -- and no, not into the kid, but into you."

"We need to get it from someone who wouldn't be bothered by the constant drain." Sasuke looked just as stubbornly expressionless; Naruto didn't like it.

"Oh, then I guess that makes it okay."

Naruto winced; Sasuke's eyelid twitched.

"I mean, after all, the Kyuubi will just possess me, and not the child! It isn't like everyone wasn't already worried that the child might be possessed when there was no physical link--"

"And Jiraiya told us that Kyuubi was bound to me now and forever and that he'd die with me!" Naruto cut her off, slamming his palm against the table. Sakura and Sasuke stared at him; he glared back at Sakura, refusing to look down. "Please, we've tried to figure ways to plug the loopholes. It looks doable. Won't you at least look, too? If you find a problem that Sasuke missed, well, then, we'll drop it. But -- come on." He reached out hesitantly, touched her hair, expecting her to bolt any second now. "...Please."

Tsunade's solutions all seemed so half-hearted to him, and he didn't want her to die. He didn't think he could take it.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. "Well, I guessed right at least. The Council and Hokage-sama will tear us apart."

"Not if it works. It isn't like we're trying to break his seal."

"... But what if we damage it? What if we damage Naruto's seal and his -- tenant starts taking control of him?" She paused, suddenly -- stared at Naruto. "Naruto... How did you get that idea?"

Naruto shrugged. "I just thought that I had so much chakra and you had so little, and there are so many jutsus that drain people's chakra."

"Are you sure," she said softly, "are you absolutely sure that it wasn't Kyuubi's idea?"

Naruto stared at her for a few seconds, and then he grinned insouciantly. "Yep." Reasonably so. He ignored a dark chuckle as the demon fox caught the gist of the conversation; the son of a bitch wasn't going to make him doubt now. Besides, even if it had been Kyuubi's idea first, he trusted his teammates to make sure there would be no nasty surprises. "...He agrees."

"He agrees -- Naruto! What's to say we're not playing right into his hands? How can you even trust him--"

"I don't. But I can tell when he lies," or at least he had never caught Kyuubi in the act, "and he can't leave me. Even if my seal was unraveled now, he'd lose huge chunks of himself and he'd probably die. Sakura-chan... I won't tell you he cares, 'cause he doesn't, but he doesn't really want the kid to die."

Sakura looked down at the scrolls, uneasy. "...In the stories I read, kitsune could possess people."

Sasuke crossed his arms, giving an annoyed sniff. "And that's why we're going to make damn sure that all you get is chakra, and nothing else." He pushed the scrolls at her again; cautiously, as if it might bite, she picked up the first one and reluctantly started reading.

"...A permanent drain?" Sakura frowned, visibly uneasy with the idea. "I'm not sure I like the idea."

"It's semi-permanent; from my calculations, it will last a year or two before all that chakra erodes it. You're free to counter-check."

"I will." Still frowning, she kept reading. Naruto started tapping his fingers on the table in a complicated little rhythm; Sasuke glared him into transferring the tapping to his thigh. Sakura didn't seem to notice.

"Why didn't you explore the possibility of regularly draining Naruto for chakra? There are short-action ninjutsus for that; Kakashi-sensei probably knows a ton, there has to be one that wouldn't hurt Naruto. You went directly with opening a long-lasting conduit between Naruto and I..."

Sasuke lifted his hand, and started counting on his fingers. "First, they would only tap his surface chakra, which would exhaust him as he tries to drag up more from the Kyuubi and convert it to replace the loss; which also means regularly opening himself up to the Kyuubi. Second, none of us has a bloodline or a specialty that would make such a drain doable with simple hand seals. We would either have to draw a circle with all the right patterns over and over again, with all the problems of necessary space and possibility for error that ensue. Or we would have to stop whatever we were doing and come back to the main circle every few days. And there would be a possibility of other people trying to tap into it and steal Naruto's chakra. Third, this way you can get chakra whenever you need it, not just whenever we can stop."

"Also, there would be fewer occasions for people to start getting all hissy and telling us to stop," Naruto added with a nonchalant shrug. "Or to think we're preparing a coup or something."

Sakura scowled. "As if they won't, when they realize that I have a direct pipeline into the hugest source of raw chakra our country has ever known."

"Well, yeah, but they won't be able to break it so easily, and we can convince them that it was for your health and nothing else."

She shook her head. "They'll just separate us. Without a grounded seal, it's harder to keep a connection between two people. There's a reason Tsunade-sama said she'd have to keep me in bed if they tried that with me; if I leave the circle, it weakens the link! It isn't possible to link two people directly without forcing them to regularly be in contact... No, a seal applied directly on someone wouldn't keep up a regular channel. It would weaken with distance and then break," she repeated, stubborn.

"The Heaven seal didn't," Sasuke replied quietly.

Naruto tensed; Sakura flinched. Sasuke's hands were ostensibly resting on the table, as if he wanted to prove that he didn't feel the urge to cover his neck.

"That's -- different," Sakura eventually replied. She wasn't looking at Sasuke, and she sounded a little choked up. "The Heaven seal would have been dormant unless you decided to use it, wasn't it? Whereas this one..."

"This one won't let your reserves get so low that you can't sustain the child. But the rest should be up to you. And of course, if you take more than you can handle, you'll probably die."

"But it will never be entirely closed."

Sasuke shrugged, and gave her a long unimpressed look. "It's a matter of strength of will."

Sakura's back stiffened, and she gave Sasuke a furious glare. Naruto had a feeling that the bastard was about to end up in the doghouse. "Is there something you want to say, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke shrugged and leaned back. "I just said it. It's a matter of strength of will. And you shouldn't need inhuman amounts of it. If you want to refuse anyway, alright, it's your choice. We'll just wait for you to find another way."

Sakura's fists slammed on the coffee table and she rose on her knees; Naruto started reaching up to hold her back, but she stopped herself, stiff and radiating barely contained rage.

"You -- son of a _bitch_. Do you think I haven't _tried_? Do you think it isn't all I think about, in between training and missions and more training? I can't even think properly, I'm exhausted all the time and -- you're blackmailing me with -- with -- you son of a bitch!"

Naruto winced, and crawled over to her side of the table. He didn't remember ever seeing her get this angry with Sasuke -- he didn't remember her getting quite this angry at him, for that matter. "Sakura-chan, he didn't mean --"

"I think that's exactly what he meant!" She speared Sasuke with another glare. "That if I can't do any better, I should shut up -- it's my body, I'll be the one at risk! I'm not at risk enough already?!"

Naruto flinched; he gave Sasuke a nervous look, but Sasuke seemed to be carved into a block of marble.

"I'm sick and tired of this situation! I'm sick and tired of having my whole career messed with, and my life and the child's put at risk -- and then you two go around and just pull a solution out of your asses and pretend it's just perfect, like the risks don't matter -- you're not the ones who'll risk going _crazy_ or _dying_ \-- and I'm sick and tired of not even being able to save my own damn self!"

The echo of her final shriek died, swallowed by the old walls. Naruto couldn't think of a single thing to say to fill the silence.

"You -- you just ride into town like heroes and fix everything without asking, and -- it's all so perfect that we're not allowed to criticize anything, and -- 'here you are, nothing you did on your own worked, but so what, you're saved, now' -- and that gets on my nerves, alright? It really gets on my nerves."

Naruto opened his mouth, but he didn't know what he wanted to say, so he closed it again. Sakura was turned away from both of them, her shoulders tense, her knuckles white. He wanted to fix it, but she wouldn't want him to, even if he knew how.

"I apologize."

Sasuke's voice was quiet, measured. He was scowling; probably didn't like having to say it. He didn't have much practice, to be frank. Naruto looked back at Sakura; she was still turned away, but there was a curious stillness to her posture that made him hold his breath.

"... Yes, well." She got up, rather stiffly. "I'm going to check out the house. If we're going to live here--" She snapped her jaws closed, walked out without looking at either of them. Naruto slowly sat back down on his sleeping bag, giving Sasuke an alarmed look. Sasuke didn't look back; both elbows on the table, hands in front of his mouth again, he was staring at the scrolls.

"...Sasuke?"

"I'm going to make tea."

And then Naruto was alone in the living room and wondering how everything could have gone so wrong so fast.

Sakura had said she was thinking of living there, right? With them? And she hadn't left. She was just cooling down. And Sasuke -- well.

Well, fuck. He slumped back on his sleeping bag, sprawled, and stared at the ceiling. The proper christening of the house was going to be harder than expected.

Sasuke drifted back ten minutes later, with a kettle and mugs; Naruto lifted his head from the floor and watched him set them on the table in silence, and let his head fall again when Sasuke sat and started sipping quietly. Sakura was away for a half-hour at least; they could hear a few thumps and scrapes as she, presumably, moved furniture around and forced open a few windows upstairs. Naruto closed his eyes and listened, trying to guess what every sound meant; some were pretty indefinable. Eventually, the noises died down; and a few minutes after a large appliance had crashed into the couch, out in the garden, she was walking down the stairs and back to the living room.

"There's so much dust upstairs. The windows should be open when we clean it off, or we're going to suffocate."

Naruto grinned and sprang into a sitting position. "Yeah, you should have seen what the living room looked like. It was like walking in snow!"

"Oh, ew, gray fluffy snow."

Sakura's tone was still a little tense, but Naruto beamed back anyway.

Sasuke wasn't looking at her; he was pouring another mug of tea. Still silent, he picked it up and placed it in front of her, and then he looked up. They stared at each other for a while; finally, Sakura closed her eyes and her strained expression softened.

"...How do you plan on filtering out the Kyuubi's influence?"

Sasuke opened another scroll, showing her diagrams that looked like snowflakes, and lines and lines of calculations.

"Mmh. What's that variable?"

"Demonic chakra doesn't react entirely like human chakra. There's always a variable. I don't think it can be erased."

"It's not a perfect solution, Sakura-chan," Naruto intervened. "There's always going to be a risk where the furball is concerned. He could be lying to me, his chakra could be impossible to use for anyone who wasn't born with it -- perhaps we can't convert it and it will burn you like it burned Sasuke that time I tried to heal him. Perhaps it will affect the kid and then we'll end up with a kitsune child." He looked up at her, the poor little smile he had been holding onto dissipating. "Perhaps you'll die. And we can't tell you to risk it instead of continuing to trust in the old hag. Maybe she'll find something -- or your body will adapt, or the drain will slow down and then our idea will be useless. I don't have a clue."

Sakura stared down into her cup, and then delicately lifted it to take a sip, a distant look in her eyes. "So in the end, it's all left to chance."

"But there are still probabilities," Sasuke countered. "And if we work on this idea, get rid of as many variables as possible, perhaps we can reduce the probabilities to a more acceptable level."

Sakura didn't move for a long moment, staring down into her cup; and then she nodded. "Alright. Alright, I'll work on it. It still isn't a yes!" she warned them sternly. Naruto just beamed back. If she ended up saying no, it would be because there was a problem that just couldn't be worked out. But at least they were doing something.

Well. Sasuke and Sakura were doing something.

At first, Naruto contributed a few words here and there, and watched their diagrams with confused fascination. Eventually, though, they drifted into arcane calculations and secondary and tertiary meanings of the twelve hand seals and elemental resonance and whatnot, and he was reduced to crossing his arms on the table and letting their voices wash over him, since he didn't have a clue what they were on about.

He didn't even realize he had dozed off; he just noticed when he woke up, slumped uncomfortably against the table, and found them still debating quietly at the light of an old oil lamp. Sakura had a scroll of her own to write her notations, and it was already halfway full. Naruto didn't have a great sense of time, but it must have been after two AM at the very least.

"That's not possible -- oh, damn it, I lost the thread again. How far did you get?"

"... I got a different result this time." Sasuke glared at his paper and pencil, as if they had betrayed him. Sakura gave a tired giggle.

Naruto sat up, stretched his arms over his head, and then reached out quickly and stole both scrolls. "Time's up! You're going to bed now."

"Naruto! I was just -- you can't do that, I was writing!"

"No, you weren't, you were crossing out stuff. Just let it rest and try again tomorrow, you -- whoops! Missed," he exclaimed as he dodged Sasuke's sudden lunge.

"Naruto..." Sasuke growled.

Naruto hid the scrolls behind his back. "Nope. Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei both say that when people are tired, they make stupid mistakes. You two are making stupid mistakes, and we've got to be up at seven AM on top of that. Kakashi's going to destroy you two if you come and train without having slept."

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged annoyed looks, but eventually, they capitulated.

"Fine, fine. Give me back my scroll, I want to jot down a few ideas," Sakura demanded. Naruto gave her a suspicious look. "Just a few tracks to explore later!"

Sasuke snatched the scrolls from Naruto's hand. "And in the meantime, you can make the bed."

Snorting, Naruto went to get the blankets they'd brought back from the apartment, and then unfolded them in a dry corner, piling them up to cushion the floor a little. At least they wouldn't get cold; it was wood, not stone.

... It was too bad that the sleeping bags were way too narrow for two people, much less three.

Then again, if he unzipped them all the way... Grinning, he spread his own over the blankets to make the bed less scratchy.

"What are you doing?"

"Making the bed," he replied, sticking out his tongue. "And gimme your sleeping bags; I'll zip 'em together to make a big blanket."

Sasuke was giving the blankets an unconvinced look. "The one who's going to be in the middle better not need to get up too fast during the night," he groused; he meant he wanted one of the sides for easy escape.

Naruto looked at Sakura. "You wanna be in the middle?"

"Um."

Okay, what had he said that would make her blush?

"Sakura-chan? I figured..."

She rolled her scrolls and aligned them in a corner of the coffee table, and gave Sasuke a quick, disappointed look. "Um, I'd love to, but... Sometimes I do need to get up fast in the morning, and well, I don't want to pull the blanket out with me."

Sasuke frowned. "You still get morning sickness?"

"...Yes, that too."

"Aha! Need to pee?" Naruto dodged a flying pen and snickered at her. "Okay, okay -- oh hey, that means I get to be in the middle? Awesome!"

Sasuke gave him a long, suspicious look. He must have been even more tired than Naruto thought, because he didn't say anything. To be frank, Naruto was still a little groggy from waking up from his too-short nap himself. Not enough to keep the glee down. He went to put the pen back on the table, then dug through his pack to find his pajamas. The nightcap had suffered an irreparable tear during a joint mission with Kiba, that rat bastard. ...and if he slept between the two of them, he would probably be warm enough to forego the top. Hohoho.

He couldn't help but laugh as Sakura eep-ed and retreated to the corridor when he started to strip. "Aw, come on, you've seen me naked before."

"Oh, shut up!"

Still chuckling, Naruto yanked on his pajama pants. By the table, Sasuke was pulling off his collared shirt and shorts; he folded them before looking in his pack. So anal-retentive. Naruto was kind of disappointed when the boxers stayed on, and a tank top made its appearance. Well, at least it showed some shoulders.

"Do you even own _one_ top that isn't blue?" he nagged, chuckling a little.

"Do you own anything that isn't orange?"

"Lemme think... I've got green briefs... Oh, Sakura-chan, you can come back." He turned to look toward the corridor -- and found her standing there, blushing just a little. "Sakura-chan! Don't tell me you were _peeping_!"

"I wasn't!"

"You're blushing!"

"I wasn't peeping," she repeated as she stomped in the living room. "It's just kind of ... hitting me. You know... Going to bed, with... um."

Sasuke sat down on the outer side of the bed, put the oil lamp down on the floor within arm's reach, and looked up at her. He didn't say anything; he just waited. She was frozen there in the middle of the room. Naruto gave her his hand, which she took without looking at him, and led her to their corner.

They sat in a circle, giving each other little looks.

"It's... Kind of weird, isn't it."

"But not a bad weird, right?"

"No, no. Just a -- a 'I've known them forever and now we're sharing a bed' weird. And I know we've done that before, but this time it's different. It's -- it's deliberate. Do you understand?"

Naruto scratched his head. He thought so, but he also thought that she was thinking too much once again.

"We'll get used to it, I guess," Sasuke commented prosaically, and lifted the improvised blanket.

Naruto grinned. Yeah, they would.

There was some awkwardness as they took their places; his ankle bumped into Sasuke's, Sakura kept shifting at his side, and the blanket was just large enough, provided none of them moved around too much. Not that he cared; he was in the middle. But the discreet tug of war over him was distracting. He looked at Sasuke -- who was turning his back on them, of course -- and then at Sakura. She gave him a guilty look.

"Uncomfortable?"

"...No pillow."

Naruto offered his arm; and was surprised when she took it, curling up against his side shyly, her head on his shoulder. He hugged her tight, nuzzling her hair.

"...'night Sakura-chan."

"Goodnight, Naruto," she whispered back. "Goodnight, Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah, 'night, bastard."

Sasuke doused the light and lay back down, his back still to them. "Goodnight. Now sleep."

Naruto snorted quietly, and ran his fingers up Sasuke's spine. Sasuke jerked briefly and kicked back at Naruto's leg. "Don't even start."

"Aw, come on, I'd sleep better after a quickie."

Sakura gasped on a shocked giggle. "Naruto!"

"If it's too late to stay up, doesn't it follow that it's too late for sex?" Sasuke grumbled tiredly.

"Yes, you were the one who nagged us into getting some sleep," Sakura added as she poked Naruto in the side.

"No spontaneity," Naruto whined. "I'm gonna die of blue balls one of these days, mark my words. And then you'll cry and say 'Oh, if only we had known, we would have given him a handjob or two,' but it will be TOO LATE."

He would have continued his tirade, but Sakura's hand slid over his stomach, soft, light, and he gasped.

And then she pinched him.

"Ow!"

"Sleep. Pervert."

He would have protested, but then she kissed his jaw, so he shut up.

"Goodnight."

"G'night."

"We aren't going to start again, are we? Just sleep already."

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Fuck you."

Sakura chuckled softly. "Love you, too."

"... Yeah," Naruto replied softly.

Sasuke didn't say anything, which was telling enough.

  
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Naruto woke up to Sakura squirming out of his arms. Grumbling sleepily, he tried to hold her back. "Nuhh..."

"Naruto, I'm going to throw up on you."

"Eep."

Naruto freed her reluctantly, and turned onto his other side, hoping against all probabilities that Sasuke, at least, would still be there. Fat chance. Opening his eyes, he saw the Uchiha checking on them from the kitchen as Sakura hurried out, then he disappeared again. Sasuke was already dressed; once he got his tea, he would be ready to go. Well, damn. There went Naruto's plan to christen the house properly. It would be time to go soon; Naruto wouldn't have minded being late for such a worthy cause, especially since Kakashi was always late for a lot of non-reasons, but he was pretty sure they were going to disagree.

He sat up in the bed and watched as Sakura came back, buzzed around to organize her scrolls, disappeared in the kitchen for some tea, picked up clean clothes, and disappeared into the corridor again. He just had to wonder how she could look so efficient when her skin was still kind of pale greenish and her eyes were shadowed. Habit, maybe.

"Hurry up, Naruto, or we'll leave without you!" she called back.

He sighed, and changed right in the middle of the living room. And if he took a little more time than strictly necessary to look for his clean boxers when the old ones were already off, well then, they had asked for it.

Should have asked for it. Whatever.

At least Sasuke didn't throw stuff at his head again, but neither did he give Naruto and his bare butt more than a quick, exasperated look.

 _'I shacked up with two prudes,'_ Naruto admitted resignedly.

It was a little weird to be leaving the walls of the Uchiha compound, instead of Sasuke's old apartment. The streets were so quiet and creepy, and Sasuke was stomping onwards, with his head held high and staring right ahead, as if he was leading the way for a military parade and wasn't allowed to break proper decorum. Sakura and Naruto exchanged worried looks; but if they just up and said that maybe they should live elsewhere, Sasuke would get pissed and dig his heels in just to be contrary. At least once they were out of the district and back to more normal streets, he allowed Sakura and Naruto to catch up.

They arrived on time; Kakashi didn't, of course. Naruto wanted to make-out a bit in the meantime; they chose to discuss more seal stuff. Blah. He listened anyway -- even if he couldn't add anything, just in case -- but he only gained a few random fragments like "Akariku's Principle" or "mirrored equilateral formations" and a headache.

They went through more quick D-rank missions used as background for tedious drills. At least neither of his teammates could start talking about The Big Plan again, not with Kakashi-sensei around; still, the boredom just about killed him, especially compounded with the many tiny hints that Sakura wasn't as alright as she pretended to be. There wasn't much they could do to help her overcome exhaustion except carrying her or otherwise doing it for her -- and that was rather counterproductive. He'd gotten used to ignoring it, though. By now seeing her hands shake was business as usual and Sakura got mopey when they worried too much.

The only highlight of the day was when, on a whim, Kakashi decided to show them the hand seals for a basic Suiton jutsu. On their first try, Naruto produced a few drops of water, Sakura a squirt; Sasuke tried several times with mounting annoyance, but never got anything but steam. Kakashi shook his head and chuckled.

Sakura tried to comfort Sasuke by telling him that he was already a master of fire and that water was boring anyway, and she was only that good because she already knew another Suiton jutsu.

She offered no explanations on Naruto's result. Sasuke wouldn't have been listening even if Naruto hadn't been laughing at him loud enough to cover her voice.

They got a full-out brawl out of it, and when Sakura demanded that Kakashi do something, he started giving them pointers.

Still. Boring. Naruto couldn't wait to actually do something, but he was going to be useless until the time came to actually implement the plan. Maybe, once he was done putting back the stolen scrolls and book this afternoon, he should go and find Kiba, Neji, or Lee for a spar. Or hell, all three.

They broke up around three PM; Kakashi had, once again, better things to do with his time -- if the things were "stay home and freak out sneaky students", Naruto would... he didn't know what he would do, but he'd be annoyed.

They walked Sakura to the Hokage Tower, and then Sasuke left to settle more Uchiha business stuff with the bank and clan registry that Naruto didn't ask about. Naruto went back to the house in which they were camping, picked up the scrolls, and trekked back to the tower, muttering all the while about the stupid people who had chosen to build their district at the ass-end of Konoha.

He knew that Sakura and Tsunade would be at the hospital, so he just made his way upstairs, waving at the guards and whistling all the while. He didn't even bother knocking before he reached for the handle.

"If you're looking for Tsunade, she isn't here," a deep masculine voice bellowed cheerfully in his ear.

Naruto eeped and whirled around. Jiraiya was looming over him, with a genial smile on his face and an evil glint in his eyes.

"Pervert-sennin!" Ack! Caught in the act! Wait, no, he had no way of knowing what Naruto was doing. Yeah. "Get a kick out of startling people?"

"Oho, so I startled you? Maybe you need remedial stealth training."

"In your dreams, perhaps," Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms defensively. Jiraiya herded him toward the end of the corridor, and Naruto didn't have any choice but to follow reluctantly. "What do you want? ...You don't have another trip planned anytime soon, right?" he added suddenly, worried. Cool techniques or not, it really wasn't the right time to go on a field trip with the old man.

"Nah. Why?"

Naruto relaxed. "Oh, no reason, just got some stuff planned."

" _Stuff_ , eh?"

Well, it was Jiraiya who had taught Naruto that hiding the truth was easier if you actually told the truth. Or part of it. And let them assume whatever they wanted. "Yeah. With my girlfriend," he added with a huge grin. The grin was sincere -- he always got a kick out of thinking of Sakura as his girlfriend, and this was the first time he said the term out loud in front of another person. It felt like a milestone, even if Jiraiya already knew.

"Ooh? Sounds like fun."

The old pervert waggled his eyebrows; Naruto made a face at him. "Don't you have anything better to perv about?"

"Perv! _Perv_ , he says. I am doing something infinitely better than _perving_." Jiraiya drew himself up proudly. "I'm drafting up my next epic."

Naruto snorted. "The BOYfriend will be there, too."

Calling Sasuke his boyfriend definitely felt weirder than calling Sakura-chan his girlfriend. But it was all repaid when Jiraiya twitched.

"Boyfriend. Booyfrieend... Like a boy. To make out with. Still inspired?"

"...You just ruined a masterpiece, brat."

Naruto snickered, even as Jiraiya cuffed him.

"Kinda gross to be writing about your students anyway, isn't it."

"Bah! Who would want to read about YOU? The situation has potential, that's all. It would certainly be an original twist in a romance story."

Jiraiya had herded him to the empty meeting room at the end of the corridor as they talked; they leaned side by side against the windowsill.

"Romance, hah. You write smut, old man."

"Well, of course! What better way to celebrate the passion of two hearts -- or three -- finally coming together?"

Naruto grinned. "And now you sound like Gai-sensei."

He got another slap to the head for his troubles.

"So disrespectful."

They watched the plaza underneath, the streets of Konoha stretching and sprawling up to the forest.

"...You will be taking the proper precautions for your escapade, I hope," Jiraiya eventually commented, watching him from the corner of his eye.

"It's not like we could knock up Sakura-chan again, you know," Naruto retorted without thinking.

There was a flash of pained amusement in Jiraiya's eyes. What had Naruto gotten wrong now? ... Oh. _OH_. Those kinds of precautions. Well, damn, did the old pervert really know everything or what?

 _/Didn't think you could fool an old fox, did you,/_ Kyuubi rumbled mockingly. Naruto grumbled his annoyance under his breath, at the old man and at the demon fox both. Since when did Kyuubi approve of anyone he knew anyway?

"... Yeah, we're taking all the precautions we know."

"Well, that's a step in the right direction." Jiraiya turned back to watch the city, appearing to lose interest in the conversation. Naruto knew better now.

Well then. If the old pervert had guessed what was truly going on...

"Hey, old man..."

"I told you already, don't call me that. What do you want, brat?"

"Well, I--"

_/Leave false tracks./_

Naruto closed his mouth, startled at the active interest the fox was taking in the situation. Kyuubi hadn't offered more than a few offhanded comments at random since the fire; it felt... weird to have him so close to the surface, so awake and aware. A little crowded in his head, as if they ran the risk of blurring at the edges if they didn't watch what belonged to who. Naruto didn't push him back down, even though he knew he would probably end up feeling the repercussions in the next few days.

_'Why? He already knows.'_

_/Not all your watchdogs are as pitiful at stalking as you are./_

_'I'm not pitiful!'_ Naruto protested; and then he paused. He hadn't noticed spies any time today... _'-- did you... notice anything?'_

Kyuubi growled in annoyance. _/With what? My nonexistent ears? The eyes you refuse to turn in the right direction? Stupid brat./_

Naruto pouted. Like he could just guess what Kyuubi could or couldn't see, when half the time he barely noticed the furball existed. _'Why do you care anyway?'_

_/Do you WANT to be stopped now?/_

... Well, no, he didn't. So fine! Fine. Stupid fox could stay, and too bad if Naruto ended up sleepwalking again. Now how to make Jiraiya understand what Naruto was on about, while still making potential spies understand something else entirely...

"Naruto?" Jiraiya was peering at him.

"Ah -- uh, sorry. We still don't know what they want with guys like me, do we? Those guys with the weird cloaks."

"We have a couple of guesses," Jiraiya replied, arching an eyebrow at him.

Okay. Okay, he could do it. Now if there were spies, they would assume he was asking because he was worried about Akatsuki. Which was classified info, but hey, he was the main person concerned there. He just had to keep it... what was the word again? Ambiguous. "Think they want... Well, you know how my chakra is?"

Jiraiya hummed, but seemed to take a perverse delight in waiting to see how Naruto was going to end the sentence if Jiraiya didn't finish it for him. Naruto gave him a disgruntled glare.

"You see what I mean, old man. Do you think they might want to... To tap into it or something?"

"It's a possibility," Jiraiya commented noncommittally. "At first glance, it looks likely."

Naruto fell silent, hoping that he looked thoughtful, and not like he was trying to pinpoint eventual spies. As far as he could tell, there was no one at the window next to or over them, and the corridor was empty. He couldn't detect anyone, and if there were bugs in the room, they were well-hidden, but surely Jiraiya would stop him if he said something incriminating.

Unless Jiraiya really didn't know anything and was pretending his ass off to trick Naruto into telling him, which was a strong possibility.

Bah. He had laid enough of a false trail with the Akatsuki thing. Hopefully they would think him too simple for a two-layered misdirection.

"Say, hypothetically, what would happen if someone set up a direct pipeline from my chakra to theirs?"

Jiraiya chuckled wryly and shook his head in open amusement. His eyes were wary. "Depends on if the link is direct or filtered."

Naruto frowned. "Well, if it wasn't filtered, they'd just burn their coils -- I mean, that's what happened with Sasuke, and it was just a little bit of chakra."

Jiraiya nodded in approval. "Indeed. But sadly, they're smarter than that."

"So what would happen with filters?"

"Depends on the type... Perhaps a power boost. Possibly a crater."

Naruto winced. "Eurgh. Craters are bad."

"It all depends on how smoothly the flow is drawn out; they would need to control the output and the power surges very carefully."

Jiraiya picked up a piece of chalk and idly started tracing lines on the blackboard.

"With a structure like this, you'd be more likely to survive it, and it also would give us more time to rescue you -- and if you add this here, it gives you -- the victim -- a little more control on the flow, so in case the... guys in the weird cloaks give you some slack, you can slow down the process yourself. It would still be a hell of a strain on both you and the receiver, but then they're not S-class for nothing."

Naruto winced. Sakura was very much not S-class. None of them were. "... But what if they, err. Wanted to be on the safe side? And looked for a way to echo the, you know, the healing thinger I do?"

Jiraiya added a few scribbles. "Then it should look somewhat like that; if you disrupt this, it will backfire rather spectacularly."

Naruto took note. No disrupting the kinda angular coiled ram-horn pattern inside that triangle. Absolutely not.

...What did it look like again?

"...But in this case," Jiraiya continued, "there would be problems with... _personality_ contamination."

Personality what? ...Oh. Possession. Naruto remembered that objection from Sasuke and Sakura's conversation. "There's no filters for that?"

"Hm, depends on the type, of course. Filters in this --" quick sketch-- "structure seem counterintuitive, on account of--" Jiraiya pointed out little details "-- these, but they would regulate the wild fluctuations better, and keep only the -- let's say brainwaves -- that echo the target's waves. The two sets of brainwaves might echo off each other for a while, leading to mood swings, but then there wouldn't be anything new that wasn't there before in the target's personality."

Naruto cringed. "Err. Alright." He hadn't gotten any of that. And could the diagram be any more complicated? He would never remember it all.

_/I will./_

Naruto swallowed. _'...Tell me why I should trust you to help Sakura not get possessed by you.'_ He knew that technically Kyuubi couldn't leave him, but apparently, kitsune didn't really need to move to their next victim to exercise an influence on their minds.

_/Feh! She's weak. Why would I want her?/_

Naruto growled a little. It sounded dismissive enough to be the truth, and that was reassuring, but still. _'Don't talk about her like that.'_

Jiraiya was staring at him.

"Ah -- sorry, I got a bit... Distracted." Naruto tried smiling, and realized that his canines had grown.

"Naruto--"

"It's alright. I just -- I'm not gonna remember all that," he admitted, shrugging; he hoped Jiraiya wouldn't ask.

Jiraiya didn't; he just gave him a last narrow-eyed look, and then he sighed and leaned back against the windowsill. "Well then, you will just have to do what everyone does when they wish to educate themselves, and go to the library."

"But I already did! And there was nothing that helped enough on that stuff, even in the restri-- er. The specialized section."

Jiraiya sighed. Loudly.

"Hopeless. Subtle as a brick," Naruto heard him mutter under his breath. "Did you check this side of the library?"

Naruto looked out of the window toward where Jiraiya was pointing, and stared in confusion. The East side was for agriculture and carpentry and things like that. "Er, old man..."

"Who knows, maybe the Breeding and Pest Control section will have books pertaining to your... vermin problem."

Vermin, huh. Naruto didn't know if he was feeling amused respect, or offended annoyance more. Perhaps both. If he got the chance, he would kill Jiraiya cleanly; the old man deserved that much.

... Kyuubi. Kyuubi didn't know. Not Naruto. Fuck. Naruto closed his eyes, and shoved the startled, bristling demon fox away; it hurt, they were too entangled to separate that fast. But he didn't want Kyuubi's stray thoughts in his head. The fox's deliberate comments were unnerving enough.

... Library. Pest control section. Alright. "I'll go and check."

"Be sure to do that. We wouldn't want said pest to run free around Konoha, now would we."

... Ack. His blooming headache didn't help his thought process much; but the comment was blatant enough that Naruto couldn't miss that Jiraiya wasn't bothering to pretend they were still talking about Akatsuki anymore. Oops. His little 'restricted -- er, I mean specialized' quip was probably too obvious to allow for even a second of misinterpretation.

Well, um. At least it probably meant no one was listening, or else Jiraiya would have looked more than slightly annoyed. Right? Right.

God, his head hurt, and there was too much light. He squinted, grinned sheepishly at Jiraiya; this time he made sure to keep his lips sealed.

"Any other advice, old man?"

Jiraiya gave him a serious look. "The Uchiha district already has protective barriers ready to go all around its walls; they would take some time and determination to breach. From the inside, or from the outside. Use them."

Naruto nodded, subdued. Not being interrupted without warning was good. Making sure that the villagers were safe was better. Breaching the barrier would take some time, time enough for Tsunade and the ANBU to get there, perhaps time enough to evacuate. Better than doing it in the forest; distance wouldn't help much, Kyuubi was more than vindictive enough to trek through a few countries to get back to Konoha.

They stood there, by the window; and then Jiraiya reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair, hard enough to make Naruto's head move with it.

"Ow! Leave my hair alone, old man!"

"You should get going now, you cheeky brat. Oh -- don't forget: banzai!"

Naruto folded in two over Jiraiya's hand, breath knocked out of him. Wheezing, he glared up at the old man and stepped back, rubbing his stomach. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

Jiraiya laughed. "No reason, just for old times' sake. Everything works better if you're relaxed! Especially the mixing of chakra. And I hear Tsunade coming back..."

Naruto whirled around and listened. Oh, damn. Heels stomping in the corridor. He was going to have a hard time replacing the scroll without her noticing; he'd already been lucky the first time. He turned back to face Jiraiya, who was leaning against the windowsill once again. "I gotta go, the old hag wants me to clean her office--"

Jiraiya looked amused. "How convenient."

"-- and she's gonna bitch if I'm not even started... er. Yeah, I guess." Naruto squirmed guiltily.

"Perhaps you're not entirely hopeless," Jiraiya commented as he turned to face him.

Naruto started smiling awkwardly, flattered.

"... Or perhaps you just got lucky." Jiraiya was holding a blue and white book, one Naruto had been damn sure was safely tucked away in his jacket. Naruto felt his pocket; the green scroll was still there, but his zipper was open. Argh! Stupid banzai trick.

"Get going, and don't forget to go to the library when you're done here. I'll give this back to Kakashi."

Oh, _damn_ it. Was there anything, anything at all the old pervert didn't know? ... Kakashi probably knew, too. Hell, he'd probably told the old pervert about the missing book in the first place. Bunch of sneaky, meddling bastards.

It was a good thing they were on Team Seven's side.

Naruto sighed, chuckled despite himself, and waved jauntily at Jiraiya as he walked out of the meeting room.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Setting up the seal, in Naruto's humble opinion, should have trumped cleaning the house a hundred times over.

Apparently the first was an excellent reason to get the second done.

"I don't understand why I've got to clean up both bedrooms upstairs!" Naruto groused as he stomped back down the staircase with a bucket full of dirty water in hand.

Sakura looked up from her scrolls and sighed at him. "Because there's a layer of dust we could use as a mattress in there."

"It's not that bad, really." Naruto opened a window, leaned out to check that Sasuke wasn't anywhere in sight this time, and dumped the contents of the bucket on the wilted flowerbeds underneath. "And beside we're not even using them. I mean, I wouldn't mind if it was going to be our bedroom, but they're barely big enough to fit two people and even then, the people will have to be real friendly, if you catch my drift."

"Since when do you mind that?" Sakura replied with a chuckle and a roll of her eyes.

"Well, I don't, but sometimes I like to sprawl all over the place. And what are we gonna do in summer? We'll roast alive."

"We could put futons on the gallery," she suggested, wistful. "I've heard that people with traditional houses do that."

"Bah. Sasuke won't. This gallery's turned toward the street. We'll be too exposed."

Sakura sighed. "Mmn."

"Yeah," Naruto commiserated, even though he didn't know what was so special about sleeping in the gallery.

"Yeah... Are you done cleaning yet?"

Naruto grimaced, and waved the empty bucket around in annoyance. "I thought we agreed that it was useless! And boring! But especially useless. We're not gonna sleep there, and we're going to do the seal thing in the dojo anyway."

Sakura glowered at him. "Well it needs to be done anyway, doesn't it? I'm not going to live in a house where there are doors you never open for fear of being eaten by a mutated dust bunny."

"Or buried alive under a landslide of broken things?" Naruto continued, chuckling.

"Or poisoned by a ramen packet that someone stacked in a damp corner."

Naruto stuck out his tongue at Sasuke, who was leaning against the door to the corridor and watching them. "It's not my fault it's damp everywhere in the kitchen."

"It's not like it's going to stay there long enough to get moldy anyway," Sakura commented with a little laugh. "Did you need something, Sasuke?"

"Hm. Know where I can find a stepladder?"

Naruto scoffed. He wasn't giving up his. "Hey, you're a ninja, be creative."

"I don't feel like being creative with a bucket of paint in hand and my feet stuck to a rotting ceiling."

"... Man. The ceiling's rotting too?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Probably. I'm not about to test it out." He pushed off from the wall and stepped onto the first step of the staircase.

Naruto yelped a protest. "Hey! You're not taking my ladder!"

"Ah! So you DO have one!" Sakura pointed at him, accusing.

"... Well... Yeah. But I'm using it, damn it."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and started walking up the stairs again. "You're a ninja, be creative."

"Asshole!"

"The bedroom ceilings are a lot lower than the dojo's. You don't need it. I do."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms on his chest, glaring death at Sasuke's retreating back. Sakura giggled into her hand; he pouted at her. "Mean."

"Don't be a baby, Naruto." Sakura rolled her scroll, stashed it to the side, picked up a sheet of paper covered in scribbles, and got up.

"What's that?"

"Oh, just containment seals to apply on the walls. They're not really necessary, but better safe than sorry, right?"

Naruto's smile softened a bit. No chance was too insignificant to bother with, huh. "You just want an excuse to have a romantic moment with Sasuke again."

She startled, freezing in her tracks. "What? I didn't --"

Oh, hell, now she looked guilty. Stupid! "Uh huh. And all those study dates were platonic, eh?" he asked, leaning closer and nudging her in the ribs knowingly. "You, him... A shiny scroll full of weird techniques..."

Now she was pouting. Naruto's grin widened.

"Aha! So nothing's ever happened? Oh, man, he sucks. Poor Sakura-chan, your other boyfriend is a eunuch. Don't worry, I'll give you all the lovin' you need."

She caught sight of his waggling eyebrows, and burst out in scandalized laughter. "Oh, that's horrible! He's not."

Naruto stared at her dubiously.

"... I'm pretty sure he's not."

"Well, 's good that one of us is sure, then," Naruto grinned.

"That's cruel." She sobered up. "Nothing has ever happened with him -- well, I mean, it was so -- so nice to have an occasion to talk with him like this, you know? So stimulating -- _intellectually_ stimulating," she rectified as she caught Naruto's leer, "and I really do feel like we became a little closer... and it's really nice to know that he has such a high opinion of my intelligence..."

"But no making out."

Sakura reddened, and her shoulders slumped. "... Well... No."

Naruto chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. "For such a smart girl, you're really silly sometimes."

"Hey! How come?"

"Well if you're waiting on HIM to make the first move, you're gonna die an old maid. No, seriously, I love the bastard to death, but he's frigid like somebody's great-grandmother. He's not just gonna wake up and say 'Oh hey, wanna go on a date'. So next time, you should MAKE it into a date!"

Sakura blinked at him. "Make it...?"

"No, seriously. Start it. Molest him! He secretly loves it -- OW."

Sasuke had just brained him with the stepladder. The Uchiha didn't stop for so little; he kept stomping down the stairs and past the two of them, scowling and refusing to look their way. Naruto rubbed his head and glared at his back.

"Really should get laid more often."

Sakura shook her head, chuckling tiredly. "I should get back to work now. Thank you," she added, with a little smile, and a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth that made him grin goofily and forget his bump.

He watched her follow Sasuke through the door, and then sighed heavily, shook his head, and made his way upstairs.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bedroom, as it turned out, had a window. And that window, as it turned out, opened just over an air vent for the dojo.

He didn't notice until he had washed most of the ceiling -- clinging to the walls with his dirty shoes, oops, but that wallpaper was ugly anyway -- and leaned against the open window's edge, as he tried to figure out how to reach the center of the ceiling without leaving muddy footprints on the damp tiles. But there was really no way he could miss Sakura's faintly muffled, but yet perfectly audible, "So... about that date..."

From that moment on, all thoughts of the dirty ring in the middle of the ceiling where henceforth abandoned.

Sadly, for a disappointingly long time, he only heard silence.

"... What?"

 _'Sasuke, you fucktard,'_ Naruto thought charitably, _'mess it up and die.'_ Sakura had to be pretty embarrassed at being caught talking about Sasuke behind his back. So, that she would even bring it up again was something. A kinda big something.

"Well, you know... He was teasing, but -- maybe the idea has some merit, don't you think so?"

Sasuke grunted, or maybe he said something, but he was too far from the vent to hear the words. Naruto grumbled under his breath.

Sakura chuckled; her voice echoed a little, as if she were facing away from the wall now. "Somehow I don't see you enjoying an evening at the movies or at the karaoke bar all that much, anyway."

"... Heh. Depends on the movie, I guess." A moment of silence. "Research in tandem isn't much of a date, though," Sasuke added reluctantly.

There were a few scrapping sounds -- preparing the walls for paint, maybe? Sasuke dragging the stolen stepladder around? Naruto couldn't tell.

"You know, I used to think that real dates would be being taken out to outrageously expensive restaurants and showered with roses. And then we would go clubbing. And you would say 'You are the woman of my dreams' or 'I don't know how I lived so long without you by my side' every ten minutes, at least."

She chuckled softly; Naruto bit his lip, and imagined the expression that went with that gentle, amused tone. It made him smile, too; a little ruefully, but tender above all.

"But I don't even like to dance all that much, and I think if you ever say something so horribly sappy to me, I'll have to check for genjutsu. I mean -- it probably would make me... Feel nice, but I know better now -- it wouldn't be natural for you. You're not really the kind to say things like that, and it isn't fair to expect you to be."

Her voice softened, barely a whisper. Naruto had to strain to hear it.

"But whenever you say something, I know it's the truth. And when you know there's something beyond your ability to figure out and you just expect me to figure it out for you -- I wouldn't trade that feeling for anything."

"...Sakura..."

"I mean it, you know. You're really smart, and you just -- you always need to do things on your own, and yet you ask me anyway, like you don't even need to wonder if perhaps I can't figure it out. I just wish you could trust me that much in battle. But I'll train, you'll see. And then -- and then..."

Ack! And then what? Naruto leaned a little more, trying to catch any sound that could clue him in as to what was going on, and ended up sticking to the outside wall desperately as he overbalanced. By the time he managed to scramble back inside the room, there was nothing else to listen to. He didn't have a clue whether they were kissing, or hugging, or ignoring each other in awkward silence. Perhaps they had simply moved away from the vent.

He probably shouldn't spy on them anyway, shouldn't begrudge their moments alone; but sometimes he got worried. The two of them always over-thought everything, and Sasuke could hurt Sakura-chan all too easily -- she always hoped for so much, and he didn't like emotional expectations.

Sometimes Naruto wondered what would happen if Sasuke started to feel for Sakura like Naruto himself did. He would be happy for them, he knew he would; and they would still love him, and need him there to be their friend. But he didn't know if he would still be necessary as anything but their friend. There was the child to think of, true, but Naruto didn't like the idea of using him or her as a guarantee. Naruto should be with Sakura and Sasuke because they loved him, not because it was better for the child. If the kid was his -- well. He could still be a dad and a friend without being shacked up with them.

He would miss them, though, now that he had an idea of what it was like to be with them.

Naruto knew that he was supposed to save as much chakra as he could, just in case, but surely one little Kage Bunshin wouldn't hurt, and they made okay temporary stepladders. He picked up his brush, climbed on his clone's back, and started scrubbing at the dirty ceiling again. If he got done soon enough, maybe he could check on how well they were doing.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto's quick check revealed them standing side by side in front of the far wall and pointing stuff at each other. The tone of their low voices indicated more seal talk, which made him groan; but Sakura-chan's left hand was cupping Sasuke's right elbow, and when he reached up to fix the curve of the preliminary sketch, he did it with his left hand instead of pulling away. Good boy.

Must be nice to be ambidextrous, Naruto reflected as he returned upstairs. Sasuke didn't use his left hand often outside of battle, but with a little prompting, Naruto was sure there were plenty of uses they could get out of it.

Entertaining himself with dirty thoughts, he went back to work on the next room. He knew that Sakura was tired often, and Sasuke was a frigid bitch, but really, this time! The second they were in the clear, he would jump them both. It had been way too long, and wasn't it ridiculous to jerk off so often to fantasies of them both when he could have just reached out and touched? Yes. Yes it was. It was completely ridiculous, and he was done suffering from blue balls night after night. And he wouldn't let them wriggle out of it again!

"Are you trying to clean this table out of existence?"

Naruto blinked down at the table, and then up at Sasuke, who was standing in the doorway with an eyebrow arched. Naruto glared at him; Sasuke blinked slowly, as if he didn't know that he was a cock-teasing bastard-prude.

"So, how was the mini-date?"

Sasuke grimaced briefly. "It wasn't a date at all."

"What, no kisses?" Naruto demanded, aghast.

Sasuke looked briefly embarrassed, and then glared at Naruto. "If a kiss is enough for you to make anything into a date..."

Aha! So they had. "Nah, but it's a good start." Naruto grinned back, and let go of his cleaning rag so he could reach out and pat Sasuke's head in approval. "Good boy."

Sasuke dodged, of course, and slapped his hand away. "Don't start, I'm not in the mood. Come on."

He turned on his heels and stepped away. Naruto made a face, confused. "Going where? Doing what? I thought you didn't need me in the dojo just yet."

"No, outside. I'm going to put up the barrier."

"Oh. Alright." Naruto wiped his hands on the rag and followed him down the stairs. "What do you need me for?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Check the houses, look for intruders."

"... Why would there be intruders?"

Sasuke gave him a sidelong glance as he paused before the front door. "Apart from the two old meddlers? Yesterday you weren't under watch, as far as I know. We don't know if you are today."

Naruto huffed at the reminder. "I wish they'd stop tailing me all over the place at random." Well, really, he wished they would just stop tailing him completely, but if he couldn't have that, it would be nice to KNOW when they were tailing him at least. But then that probably defeated the purpose of putting him under watch.

"You're not going to get that for a while after tonight," Sasuke pointed out cynically, and opened the door.

"Yeah, but hiding a conspiracy's harder. When I sex you up, I'll only need to close the blinds for privacy."

Sasuke twitched and his head whipped around to glare at him. "What?"

Naruto grinned, hands joined behind his head as he started strolling down the street, keeping an eye out for intruders. "Well, I wouldn't want to shock little grandmas with eagle eyes who were innocently doing their laundry at the other end of Konoha, right? They could get a heart attack, or something. It would be a real massacre! All over the village, grandmas falling dead from the shock."

Sasuke growled, a muscle in his jaw jumping. "Sex, sex, and sex. Do you ever think about anything else?"

"Yep. Fighting. Betcha 'bout half of the grandmas would be found with smiles on their lips. That's the way I want to go, I think. Spying on good sex, if I can't kick the bucket by having good sex myself."

"Naruto..."

"Yeah, dying on the battlefield sounds good on paper, but really, death by sex is the way to go."

" _Naruto_. Don't make me kick you in the face."

Naruto laughed at his grouchy tone and faintly twitching eyebrow. "Spoilsport. You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were shy. Hell, you'd give Hinata-chan a run for her money. At least, even if she wasn't direct about it, she still asked for what she wanted." He was going to end his tirade with 'and you want sex, repression-boy, but you'd die before asking for it', but Sasuke interrupted him.

"Wait. She asked you out?"

Naruto made a face as the conversation was redirected. He hadn't meant for it to go down that way. "Kinda, yeah."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Really."

Naruto turned away from the building he was surveying to give all his attention to Sasuke. He really hadn't expected that tone from him. "Not _now_! It was at least two years ago. She wasn't even dating Kiba yet."

Sasuke gave a dismissive grunt; Naruto rolled his eyes. Of course Sasuke wouldn't care about Hinata-chan's love life, not even because he knew Naruto did. Sasuke only cared that she didn't ... er. Wait. Sasuke, possessive?

"You were so obsessed with girls back then, it's strange you didn't jump on the occasion."

"Heh. Thought about it, but... no one likes being 'instead of', you know? Hinata-chan would have known I still liked Sakura-chan best." He grinned, suddenly, and nudged Sasuke's side with his elbow. "Besides, I just knew Sakura-chan would notice I'm supposed to be the man of her dreams, eventually. And I was right."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow and regarded him coolly. "Are you?"

Ow. Bastard. He knew Sakura still loved Sasuke best, there was no need to rub it in. "Well, sorta, yeah." A pause; a grin. "One of the men of her dreams, at least."

Sasuke turned away.

Naruto chuckled warmly, and nudged him again. "You know, I think I like it better this way." He didn't have to be 'instead of'; and he didn't have to lose Sasuke either. Infinitely better. "So, how was that kiss?"

Sasuke glared, again. "Exhibitionist, and now voyeur. Why am I not surprised."

"Hey! You make it sound like I'm perverted -- oh wait."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Stop clowning around."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, but did as suggested. They had a job to do.

They separated when they reached the wall; Naruto wandered through the compound, looking for intruders, as Sasuke stopped, and touched things, and frowned a lot. Naruto suspected him of not knowing exactly where the trigger tags were situated. Sasuke advanced slowly; Naruto searched in an S pattern so that he would come back to the outer wall regularly, and always ended up close enough that he could strike up another bout of conversation.

Mostly, it was naughty stuff, but Sasuke took to completely ignoring him, and since the only other living things Naruto had found so far were stray cats and rodents, it got a bit boring.

So when, on his next sweep, he noticed that Sasuke was now methodically smearing blood on an old tree, he just had to pause and stare. "What are you doing?"

"Activating," Sasuke replied absently as he shaped a hand seal. "Did you find anyone?"

"Just a mama cat and her kittens. I'm not chasing them off; she'd eat me."

"Hm."

Sasuke really didn't sound all that interested, in either the cats or the conversation. Naruto sighed heavily. Well, maybe if he wouldn't chat about random things, he would talk about the barrier. "So... Does this thing work with anyone's blood, or just an Uchiha's?"

"Just an Uchiha's," Sasuke replied distractedly. A kanji lit up on the bark, gleamed briefly and disappeared; Sasuke leaned back, regarding the spot in silence for a few seconds before he turned away, apparently satisfied.

Sasuke proceeded to the next segment of wall; Naruto went back to his patrol for another loop, dragging his feet a bit. If there really was someone else inside the compound, and they were good, Naruto wasn't about to find them that easily. If they were smart, they'd be following the two of them, or else staked out by the house. Still... perhaps he'd get lucky.

When he came across Sasuke again, Sasuke was smearing more blood onto yet another tree. Naruto tilted his head. "Er. Are they all stuck to trees? Why not the walls?"

Sasuke shrugged. "There are mirroring tags hidden on the walls, but the trees are the ones stocking chakra."

Naruto joined him and peered up at the tree. "Oh. Kinda cool that you don't have to power it yourself, but how the hell does that work? Trees aren't really alive -- or they can't produce chakra at least."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "How do exploding tags explode? They're just paper and ink."

Naruto scratched his head. "... Wait, I knew this. I think."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, again; Naruto kicked at him, and was disgruntled when he dodged.

"As long as they work, why should I remember how they make them? It's not like I could make mine anyway, I'm a field ninja, not a... tag-supplier ninja or something."

Sasuke gave him a look that meant 'Why do I always get dragged into the stupidest conversations with you?' "They're infused with chakra, and then a simple spell is applied to them with special ink. It's the same chakra and ink for any type of tag -- fire, smoke, flash -- but the spell makes the effect different. The trees work on the same basic principle."

"... Duh. So then why doesn't everyone do this? Use trees?"

Sasuke hummed thoughtfully. "I suspect some do -- there must be a reason why Konoha has trees growing everywhere. But it's not as easy as that."

Naruto looked curiously at Sasuke and his sudden, suspicious lack of scowl. These days, it was rare when he didn't sound put-upon when he had to explain something to Naruto. The whole mess didn't improve anyone's mood or patience, and Sasuke already didn't have a lot to spare. Naruto found himself loath to waste this sudden mood shift.

They strolled down the street in companionable silence; Naruto watched Sasuke as he cut his fingertip open with a kunai and did his thing with the next tree. Naruto felt a little at a loss, though; it was just plain weird that Sasuke hadn't yet pointed out that Naruto wasn't doing his part of the job. "If there's anyone out here, I'm not gonna find them," he justified guiltily.

Sasuke nodded, and looked unsurprised. "Of course."

"...Of course?" Naruto made a face. "Hey, why did you ask me to come along if I was gonna be useless?"

Sasuke turned away and started walking again; for a few seconds he didn't answer, and Naruto frowned. What, no snipping back?

The silence didn't feel companionable, so much as ominous, suddenly.

"I put you down as my next of kin."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. "... What?"

His back still on Naruto, Sasuke snorted, and his voice turned insultingly slow and deliberate. "If I die, you get my stuff."

Snarling, Naruto jumped forward and grabbed Sasuke's shoulder, forcing him to turn around to face him. "What the _fuck_?! I thought we had the whole seal thing under control -- you and Sakura said it wasn't very dangerous after all!"

Sasuke's face seemed carved in stone. "If we're cautious, and if nothing unexpected happens, it's not dangerous. It's just in case, Naruto."

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's collar with both hands and gave him a shake. "No, not 'just in case'! You're not dying ever, so shut the fuck up! What the hell, we'll just find another way--"

Sasuke snaked an arm under Naruto's and mirrored his hold, tugging him even closer so he could snarl in his face. "It is NOT that dangerous, and I didn't tell you just so you could freak out on me! I don't plan on dying. I _know_ we can make it work, and we're going to. Alright? Shut up."

Naruto tightened his grip, teeth bared. "So why are you telling me this now?"

"Because if I die at some point, and the child isn't mine, I want you to _raze this compound to the ground._ Don't allow anyone to take anything from it. Just raze it. And then sell it, or rebuild a little house for you and Sakura, or whatever. Hell, you can turn it into an amusement park if you want to, for all I care."

Naruto loosened his double hold on Sasuke's collar; he didn't let go, though, because this was probably as close to a bear hug as the bastard would ever let him get. "Damn it, Sasuke..."

The Uchiha looked away, leaned back. "I know some people stole furniture and random crap from people's houses before. It's disgusting, but it doesn't matter. I just don't want the compound to stand here like a ghost town, until the village decides that my corpse is cool enough for them to start looting it for clan secrets."

"Sasuke, you dumb fuck." Naruto reeled him right back in his personal space, leaned even closer, forehead to forehead. And then he smiled, even if the very thought hurt. "Sure. I'll make everything go up in flames. You goddamn pyro asshole."

He didn't let go for a few seconds; just looked into Sasuke's eyes and watched him stare back. He thought about saying something -- 'sure, you rat bastard, anything for you'. Perhaps 'I'll die before I let you check out on me.' Perhaps even 'you're so far under my skin you'll tear me up if you leave now. So don't. Just don't'. Maybe 'I love you', but then again, maybe not quite, he didn't know.

And then, reluctantly, he let go.

"With our luck the kid will be yours, just you wait and see. And I'm not teaching him or her Katon."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed; not seriously, though. "Really."

"Nah, Katon sucks," Naruto retorted as he crossed his hands behind his head and grinned. "I'll teach her Kage Bunshin and Rasengan -- that's way more than enough to get out of anything."

Sasuke rolled his eyes; he was smirking. "One trick-pony."

"Hey, pony yourself! I know way more than one trick."

"You're right. Two-tricks pony."

"You're just jealous, because you've got to remember tons of tiny things that don't even work half the time, but MY techniques are always enough to get out of everything!"

Sasuke's smirk widened slightly. "Except when they aren't."

"Oh, shut up!"

A moment of silence.

"...Pony."

Naruto tried to snap back something, prove Sasuke wrong and win the stupid argument, he really did; but he was laughing too hard for it to come through.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_/It's time./_

Naruto cast a long look at the Uchiha compound, at the village sprawling behind its gates. The barrier shimmered there, just barely visible in the night sky.

Naruto raked his claws on the tiles idly. _'You in a hurry, furball?'_

_/It would be a waste to come so far for nothing, wouldn't it./_

Naruto chuckled, watching the moon. It peeked over the forest in the distance, perfectly full. _'Still don't understand jack shit to that elemental resonance thing.'_

_/You humans and your science. Laws for everything that dares to exist, everything deconstructed into cold, smooth little blocks of meaning that end up not meaning anything at all./_

Naruto stretched his arms and back, didn't bother straightening up from his crouch; skidded-slunk down the roof, like a cat down a toboggan. _'You don't know why it works either, do you.'_

_/I know it works. That's enough./_

Naruto caught himself on the gutter before he plunged over the edge, gave the rising moon a last look. _'Better hope it does. Because if it doesn't...'_

He didn't finish his thought; he didn't need to. If the backlash hurt -- killed -- Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto would turn himself in to the ANBU on his own. If Kyuubi was playing him, aiming for a hidden loophole, Naruto would kill himself before the fox went anywhere and then they'd both die.

_/If your bitches haven't messed up, there won't be a backlash./_

_'You're not commenting on the loophole, I see.'_

Naruto felt Kyuubi's muzzle stretch over fangs in a parody of smile -- or perhaps it was his own face; he couldn't tell, they were that close. There was no reply; he hadn't really expected one anyway. He snorted, and rolled over the edge of the roof, landing soundlessly on the gallery below.

The house was dark, the makeshift bed in the living room made with military precision. He wanted to ruffle it, but that could wait, just a little while longer.

The dojo was well-lit; enough so that when he opened the connecting door, he ended up squinting, pupils constricting painfully.

Sakura and Sasuke were standing face to face in a corner; him with ink on his hands and tension in his shoulders, her wrapped up in a light robe as if it was the only thing between her and a snowstorm. They were both doing that not-quite-looking-at-you thing; Naruto stalked closer, intrigued and vaguely frustrated. They better not be once again talking to death everything bad that could ever happen.

"Ah, Naruto." Sakura smiled at him, unconvincingly. And she was so beautiful and so worried and he'd kill to make sure she was alright, because she was his. He'd kill to have her smile at him for real, from the heart.

Naruto didn't really want to bother saying anything back; he forced himself anyway, grinning just as unconvincingly. "This wall dry?"

"Um, yes--"

He caught her shoulders when she was still asking 'why?', pushed her back against the inked lines and loops on the wooden wall, and kissed her, hard and hungry. It wasn't all him and he knew it -- they both did, him and the fox -- but it didn't matter. She was his, his to protect and to love, and if he couldn't make her smile true for him, he could make her respond much more truly.

Her startled little yelp made him purr, and her confused moan was all the surrender he needed.

When Sasuke sneered something about how unnecessary it had been to shoulder him out of the way like that, Naruto broke the kiss with Sakura just so he could slam Sasuke against the other wall of the corner and silence him properly. With tongue. And teeth.

This time he didn't expect a surrender, and didn't get it anyway. He liked it better like that.

Then he stepped back, one hand on each wall, corralling them in the corner, and grinned fangily. "No angst now. Forbidden. I'll bite you if you start the 'woe, what if' routine."

Sasuke sneered, unimpressed; Sakura pouted, and pretended that her lips and cheeks weren't still flushed from his kiss. "... You're a pest."

"You're too gloomy. We don't need two Sasukes in the team. So stop it, alright? Or I'll kiss you again."

Sakura laughed, a bit shakily. "Oh no, please, not the kisses, I'll do anything."

Sasuke snorted faintly; Naruto glanced at him, vaguely surprised by his willingness to allow Naruto to box him in. Sasuke didn't say anything, though; he just stared back. He seemed a little annoyed, but Naruto couldn't tell if it was at one or both of his teammates, or at himself, or all three. Naruto didn't smile for him, because Sasuke didn't need it; he needed to know that Naruto was determined to carry their plan through.

"Hey, Naruto... You're..." Sakura trailed off, but her meaning was clear enough, as clear as the way she was staring at his face -- fangs and slit pupils and widened whiskers marks, no doubt.

Naruto shrugged and smiled at her. "Foxy? Yep. It's alright." He stepped back, freeing them. "Okay, let's do it. ...Oh hey, Sakura-chan," he added, leering at her, and her hands, clenched on the edges of her robe, "I didn't realize you needed to get naked. Niiiice."

Sakura recovered enough to glare at him; he grinned back, approving.

"I'm not naked." Huffing, she stepped toward the middle of the dojo, muttering under her breath as her stiff fingers fought with her belt. "I couldn't take a naked ritual seriously, anyway. I would be too embarrassed to do anything but giggle."

Naruto followed, throwing his shirt in a corner and taking his place on the symbol that mirrored hers. "Whaaat? You'd look awesome. Like a priestess of arcane... stuff. Powers beyond man's understanding, and all that bull. What do they call it, skyclad? Yeah, you'd look all kinds of nice, naked under the stars."

She rolled her eyes as she took off the robe, revealing a plain sports bra and her usual black biker shorts. They looked a lot nicer with no skirt to obstruct the view.

"I'm a bit out of date as a virgin sacrifice, you know."

"It's alright," Naruto retorted as he stretched his legs and leaned back on his hands casually. "We can sacrifice Sasuke. He's not a virgin either, but the way he acts, I'm sure no one will be able to tell the difference."

Sasuke scowled at him over the edge of the ink bowl where he was mixing in more of his blood. "Oh, go to hell. You talk like you're a slut, but you don't have any more experience than I do."

Naruto snorted, teeth bared in a hard grin. He didn't remember whether Sasuke had Sakura before or after Naruto took him, but first lover or not, Naruto had been Sasuke's first guy; and knowing the misanthropic bastard like he did, Naruto was pretty sure he'd be Sasuke's last even if Naruto died tomorrow. "Sure I do."

"Porn magazines don't count as experience. If that were the case, every prepubescent brat raiding his parents' closet for a laugh would be a sex guru."

In that light, memories of Kyuubi's sex life probably didn't count either, even if he remembered way too many sounds, scents, and feelings to compare simple photographs to them. He grinned anyway, with even more teeth. "I got a blowjob once. Top that, bitch."

Sasuke just stared at him, the brush he was using to mix the ink coming to a stop. Naruto's fangy grin widened.

"You can't, eh? Ha! I win."

Sasuke started mixing his stuff again. "I'm trying to figure out who would get anywhere close to your dick of their own will, but it's not computing."

Naruto snuck a glance at Sakura. She was sitting in her spot and biting her lip, and didn't seem inclined to say anything. Damn. Naruto had hoped she would interrupt them. He grumbled under his breath, "It was a prostitute, during a trip with Jiraiya."

Sasuke smirked thinly, like he didn't need to add anything to that.

Naruto growled. "Shut up, I still win."

"Um, guys, can we--"

"Like hell you win, you had to pay someone."

"Hey! I didn't ask her, she was the one who started it!"

"Because she could tell you were an easy mark!"

" _Neither_ of you wins."

Silence fell in the dojo.

For a little while, at least. "... Uh. What?"

Sakura's cheeks were red, but she didn't back down; if anything, she glared even harder. "Neither of you wins, because I do. There, are you happy? I know I am. I always wanted to win a game of 'Who has the biggest penis'." She didn't need to tack on an 'idiots' at the end; her tone came through clear enough.

Naruto was still trying to decide whether to be jealous, or ruefully amused, when Kyuubi purred out an appreciative laugh. / _And now your pink slut only lacks a set of balls to be manlier than your bitch./_

Sasuke wasn't so amused. "Wait a minute here. You had sex before -- and you never said anything?"

Sakura sighed wearily. "Listen, it isn't that I'm not happy you're jealous--"

Sasuke twitched. "I'm _not_ \--"

"...But this really isn't anything we have time to debate now. All you need to know is that it wasn't anyone from Konoha, and he really, really doesn't matter anymore, didn't even matter as much as I thought back then, and hasn't mattered at all for _years_. Now can we please _get a move on_ \-- preferably _before_ the sun rises? The moon isn't going to wait for us."

Sasuke closed his eyes, and then sighed, deep and slow. Naruto relaxed; Sasuke still didn't look very happy, but apparently the touch of urgency in Sakura's voice had reached him.

"Alright. Later," Sasuke capitulated.

Still on edge, Sakura nodded quickly, hands flitting nervously all over the place. "Yes, yes, afterwards, anything you want to know--"

"The size of his wang?"

"Naruto!"

Naruto grinned. Panic successfully avoided. "Gotta reassure Sasuke that he's bigger, after all."

Sasuke sneered. "I don't have your insecurities, nor your reason to have them."

"Oi--"

This time Sakura didn't need to say anything; her discouraged slump was obvious enough. Naruto sighed in irritation; but he would /fuck/ pummel Sasuke into the ground later.

"Okay, yeah, we're done. Let's get started."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at that, but only rolled his eyes briefly and didn't retort anything.

Sakura took a deep breath, and lay down on her back, squirming a little to make herself comfortable on the wooden floor, lifted up her hips to roll down the waistband of her shorts -- Naruto expected a flash of pink curls any second now, but she stopped just before that. Sasuke moved from his cross-legged position to a more formal one, kneeling at her side, back ramrod straight, knees slightly apart. Naruto thought of samurais, and vaguely regretted the T-shirt Sasuke was wearing; formal kimono would have suited him better right now.

Sakura folded her arms to keep them out of Sasuke's way and smiled up bravely. "I'm ready."

"Alright," he replied, brushing his fingers against her arm discreetly.

Naruto propped himself up on his elbow, and watched as Sasuke leaned over Sakura and lifted the brush out of its bowl. Thick black ink dripped on her bare stomach; Naruto purred quietly when the tip of the brush dipped into the ink, and started to glide around her navel with deliberate slowness.

Sasuke started with a spiral reminiscent of Naruto's own, following it with lines of symbols that crawled their way down her hips and sides, connecting her to the array on the floor. The wet, glistening trail highlighted the gentle curves of her body. Sasuke's hand was steady, strangely elegant, like the angle of his jaw and neck.

"Naruto." Sasuke's tone was absent; he didn't look at the blond. "You should try to meditate. Make sure your chakra flows properly."

Naruto frowned. It was hard to mix his chakra and watch the scenery. But if they thought it would be better... Grumbling, he gave the tableau a last look and lay down.

On the ceiling, just overhead, there was a quickly penciled doodle of a man, with little schematics of how far apart he should put his feet and where his elbows were allowed to be; it surprised a laugh out of Naruto.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, Sakura-chan, you should be an artist," he teased as he obligingly copied the indicated position.

"What -- oh, that..."

She sounded like she was blushing. Perhaps she would have said more, but Sasuke shushed her; talking made her body move, and he was still painting. Naruto relaxed, contemplating the little fellow. He had a zigzag for hair and actual whiskers that poked out of the sides of his round face.

"Pretty sure my eyes aren't that beady, though."

Sakura stifled a snicker; Sasuke huffed quietly, though he didn't look up. "Naruto... Meditate. You need to be able to control the surge of demonic chakra when we make the connection."

"Yeah, yeah."

He meditated, making himself aware, first of the room -- Sakura and Sasuke's breathing, the soft slide of the brush, the scents inside the dojo, of old sweat and incense and ink, faded presences worn away to a few wisps he might have been imagining -- and then of his body, the slow movement of his lungs and the beat of his heart and the subtle, permanent tension in his muscles -- the way each living cell produced chakra. Slowly, he started channeling that chakra toward his center.

The rasp of clothes and the bare feet padding toward him disturbed his concentration; he opened an eye to see Sasuke leaning over him. "My turn already?"

"Yeah. Shut up and don't move."

Naruto snorted, but the calm from the meditation hadn't entirely left him yet. He closed his eyes again, waiting for the first drop of paint.

It wasn't really cold; but it wasn't warm either. It was kind of thick and a little sticky. But then, what had he expected? It was ink and blood.

Sasuke had lost a little too much blood today, between the paint and the barrier around the district, and Naruto knew that Sakura couldn't use her chakra to fix him. But he would hold on until the end; he was too stubborn not to.

"Put your palms flat on the ground."

Naruto obliged, and felt the brush travel up his chest and then down his arm in quick little flicks. It felt weird, ticklish and wet, and too light a touch to do anything but tease. He grinned anyway, eyes still closed. "Nice view, huh?"

Sasuke snorted. "Delightful. Let me concentrate."

Sasuke was soon finished. Apart from connecting him to the array through his arms, there wasn't much to paint on Naruto; the bulk of it was going to be on Sakura. Naruto tracked Sasuke's progress away from him and to the corner reserved to the spellcaster through sound.

There was a pause, where even Sakura's breathing stopped.

Sasuke broke it first. "... Let's do this."

Naruto chuckled. "Heh. We're waiting on you, bastard."

"This is the stupidest idea we've ever had," Sakura commented from her own corner.

Naruto's smile widened. It hadn't been Sakura's idea at all; but here she was, ready to gamble everything she had on it anyway. It hadn't been Sasuke's idea either, though without him it would have stayed a silly flight of fancy.

He wasn't going to let them down.

He sank into himself, with the sound of their breathing and Sasuke's whispers stretching behind him like a lifeline.

"...Dragon, Snake, Hare, Rooster..."

Sasuke's low voice buzzed in his ears, or perhaps it was the beat of his heart. Slow, but strong; heavy. His chakra ebbed and flowed along with the ancient rhythm, pooling at his center to mix a little red with blue, and then letting it spread along his spine, his legs, his arms, up to the tips of his fingers -- and farther. It was easy, like the tides -- ebb and flow, ebb and flow...

The darkness under his eyelids slowly turned to green. He wasn't surprised. He took a step toward the cage, water sloshing around his ankles. Fiery red bubbled to the surface with each of his steps.

Their steps.

Mirror. Himself, standing behind the bars, at the edge of the endless dark. A blue glow highlighting a spread of deep grooves on his cheeks. Crimson eyes. A wild, reddish-gold mane. His face. His body, beyond which weaved and slithered nine shadows.

_"-- Snake, Ram, Rat --"_

They took a last step and paused, meeting their other's eyes, and for a few seconds weren't sure on which side of the bars they were, or even whether that mattered.

What mattered was the tail -- the power -- as it snaked through the bars, seeped into his skin, mixed with his own life-force. And then it was his to control. And a second tail; and a third. It was heady. It felt so right. A fourth, slower, more reluctant -- and then he reached into the cage and pulled a fifth away from his mirror image. They growled at each other, fangs bared.

_"-- Ox, Dragon, Ox, Tiger --"_

But there was the child.

When the fifth tail passed under his control, the red eyes' pupils turned round and the scarred cheeks smoothed out.

He -- they -- walked away from the cage, and his footfalls rang twice, and two shadows followed on the green walls. A mountain of burnished fur, evil intent and raw chakra lay still behind him, half-swallowed by the darkness.

 _"-- Dragon."_ Silence. _" **Naruto**."_

There was a door now, on the opposite wall from the cage, where there had been none before; a human-sized door covered in scribbles that hurt his eyes when he stared. He opened it, watched the ankle-deep, chakra-infused water of his own cage-room flow, spreading down the new corridor.

There was a gate along the way -- a thick metal grill like one might find in a castle, that wouldn't let a human arm pass, never mind a demon's paw.

Somewhere beyond was his child.

He was at the gate before he even wondered if he should, his double-steps echoing like a stampede in the narrow corridor. But the child -- it had been starved of chakra for so long. Was it still growing normally? Was it weakened -- stunted -- dying?

The gate was heavy in his hands; but not heavy enough, once he used one of his tails to brace himself. He pulled, fangs bared. His child. His, his, _his_. Like hell he would let them make it some sickly little cripple.

He gave a last grunt of effort, the thick, heavy metal bars digging into his hands.

And then triumph -- and tearing, searing pain.

Naruto stumbled alone in the water; and when he threw himself at the falling gate, wisps of red chakra died in his empty hands. The green corridors were ringing with the echoes of Kyuubi's run, and on the walls, his shadow danced, fox and then man and then fox.

"No!" Naruto raged, throwing himself on the barrier. It didn't bulge. He stumbled, fell on one knee; everything hurt and was off-kilter and he couldn't think right -- the baby, the baby -- his mate -- Sakura -- he could think enough. Lifting -- he needed to lift it. Enough, just enough -- he stayed on his knees, and when the gate was at chest-height he wriggled underneath and almost got a foot snapped off and he didn't care, he was hunting.

His baby. His mate. Couldn't let the demon hurt them -- how had he lied to Naruto? They'd been one -- how had he hidden his true intent? How had Naruto missed it?

Up ahead and all around, there was a woman's scream; and somewhere far beyond the green corridors, Sasuke yelled and fell silent.

He ran. He flew.

He arrived too late.

There was a slender figure crumpled in a faraway corner, curled up around a tiny, fluttering light. Pink hair in disarray, spread on the floor. Unmoving. Arrays of raw, white-blue chakra surrounded her -- on the floor, on the walls, in the air itself, like barriers. They felt like Sasuke, like thunder and fire. He knew they would hurt like it without touching them.

Kyuubi crossed them like they didn't exist for him, even though the burns and welts mirrored themselves on Naruto's skin.

_"--Sakura! Breathe -- damn it, breathe!--"_

Orange chakra started bubbling up from the spreading puddle on the floor; five tails of fire coiled all around the demon and her. Naruto roared in rage as he rushed forward. Too late, too slow, and Kyuubi was leaning down, and his claws --

"Who the _HELL_ do you think you are?!"

Naruto froze in his tracks, his hand smarting where Sakura had slapped aside Kyuubi's paw. And stared. A lot.

Sakura -- his Sakura-chan, miss more-brains-than-brawns, the girl whose waist he could encircle with one arm -- was standing there, back hunched, ready to pounce, and suddenly she seemed ten feet tall. Raw chakra crackled around her like lightning. Behind her, on the floor, was the translucent, ghostly shape of another pink-haired girl, still curled up in a tight ball around a soft glow. What the hell was going on?

Kyuubi's low growl made Naruto forget his confusion. He had to save her first, he could wonder later. He rushed forward, splashing redder and redder water as he went; all around Kyuubi the water boiled over, demon chakra oozing over his body.

Naruto was in the middle of his last leap when a lashing tail caught him under the ribs, sending him flying. The breath was knocked out of him, and then his head rapped sharply against a wall. He fell, dazed, struggled back to his knees as the world danced around him. At the other end of the black void-room, two blurry shapes faced off against each other. The echoes of each hit made the floor shake. Whenever he blinked, the red-burning one seemed to have four paws, and a huge, gaping maw.

It didn't stop Sakura from slugging him right in the muzzle, a heavy punch whose momentum sent Naruto reeling and Kyuubi stumbling back. She seemed utterly furious. Kyuubi had offended her, and now she would make him pay.

Naruto would have been more impressed by her fearlessness if the beast hadn't chosen that moment to start laughing.

"Perhaps he didn't choose so badly."

Sakura sneered, charged, fists swinging.

Kyuubi was human again -- just in time to dodge under her blow, a low, animalistic crouch. Her foot scythed down -- Naruto's head exploded into pain again, and he stumbled. Kyuubi snarled, blocked her follow-up fist; his sudden backhand threw her to the floor, rolling like a puppet with cut strings. Naruto roared in outrage, slammed into his double -- felt the shock resonating up his back, and the echoing pain; he didn't care. How could Kyuubi even think about hurting her? How could he _dare_?

The world tilted, water splashed. He dug his claws into Kyuubi's flesh, his teeth in Kyuubi's shoulders -- or perhaps it was Kyuubi who was biting him -- it hurt the same, fur and then skin and then fur. Caught in the loop, he didn't know who was doing what anymore, but he knew that he wasn't going to let go.

_"--kura! Come on, you can--"_

Chakra was welling up around them, bubbling and spreading; it should have left blisters on their skins. It seeped through instead. All around, the walls of the soul-room started shaking. There was another male voice shouting somewhere far away, but they couldn't make out the words. It didn't matter, anyway.

_"On three--"_

What mattered was fangs in shoulders and claws digging grooves into muscles and vicious kicks and limbs snaking around each other, and tails winding and whipping and melding, and hate rage hate betrayal disgust hate.

And she said, "Three."

The floor exploded. Water rushed back at them, and red bubbles and fire and rage, like a wave -- a tsunami -- and they rolled together, snarling from the shock. How dare she interrupt them when they were trying to protect --

"Out! _Out_! Get the hell out before I _kill you_!"

Chakra surged again; a giant hand -- large as they were tall -- swept the floor, narrowly missed them as they rolled out of the way -- backhanded its way back. Slam. A hard surface broke behind them. They growled, offended and dazed, stumbled back up over the shattered door to pounce out of the corridor.

_"Tiger, Tiger, Ram!"_

The walls of the corridor came to life. Spears and kunai showered them, pits opened under their heels. And inside her soul room, a larger-than-life Sakura stood, water bubbling red around her legs, fists white-knuckled, between the door and the ghost-shape of the other Sakura. They caught a glimpse of the soft, flickering glow she was cradling, and then chains wrapped around their throat, their chest, their limbs, hurling them backwards. They dug their heels in, infuriated, wrapped a tail around the chain to melt it off.

_"Naruto! What the hell are you doing?!"_

He stumbled.

They wanted to return to their child. To make sure it was alright.

But Sakura was already doing that. Guarding it, nurturing it. And the spears kept springing from the walls; he was just a little too slow and one of them dug a furrow in his back. The pain enraged them again.

_"Naruto, damn it, don't make me--"_

_('I put you down as my next of kin.')_

\-- Oh. Right.

If he made Sasuke kill him, the bastard would bitch.

They still wanted to go back to their child, to make sure that it would be safe, that it would be strong. But they'd all done their best and more than that was... bad. He wasn't really sure why it was bad, but She and He wouldn't -- _didn't_ \-- like it. That was reason enough.

He gave a last look at the two girls, and the little flame the smaller one was cradling, and then -- he didn't want to go, but he went anyway. He turned away and ran down the corridor, past the traps and the blades and the sloshing, frothing water. The gates slammed closed on his heels; the clanks of deadbolts sliding home echoing under the low ceiling. He was -- they were -- angry still -- his mates had gotten in their way -- but proud also. His way or theirs, the baby would be strong.

The last door closed behind him, leaving him standing inside the green room. He stumbled his way back to the cage, feeling, now, the exhaustion and the wounds. Most had healed over by now, but the soreness stayed. His head swam, and the double shadow looming overhead made him even more dizzy.

He closed his hand on a thick metal bar, and opened his eyes to a wooden ceiling, where the wobbly stick figure grinned at him from under a mess of glowing barrier sigils. His ears were whistling, and the acrid scent of singed hair tickled his nose.

He could hear them breathe -- fast, but not in the peculiar, high-pitched way that betrayed a painful wound. So he breathed with them, and tried to make the world stop spinning.

"... Everyone's alive?" Sakura eventually inquired from where she lay sprawled on the floor.

Sasuke grunted. Naruto carefully pulled his claws out of the gouges in the wooden planks, and added his own "Yeah."

He managed to lift his head off the floor. The glow of the barriers was dimming slowly, letting him see charred lines and loops on the walls where the sigils had been. Panels had splintered. Three of the four high-placed, narrow windows were broken. Sasuke's ink bowl had rolled away from him to crash against the wall; there were broken shards of pottery behind him, and red-black splashes all over the floor just outside the main array -- they'd been lucky none had splashed the patterns.

Sasuke was pale. Already, he was trying to scowl, but it only made his shaken look worse for those who knew how to look.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded as he climbed unsteadily on his feet.

Sakura gave an exhausted laugh, flat on her back, and spread her arms as if to stop the floor from swaying. "Don't know. Hurts. We did it!"

Naruto laughed with her. It was over. They were safe. She was going to be alright. He lifted his head just enough to meet her eyes, and they grinned at each other.

"We almost didn't," Sasuke retorted, glaring at the both of them as he made his way to Sakura. "And it wasn't even one of the weak points we were ready for... Where do you hurt?" He fell to one knee at her side, one of his hands by her head, tapped her cheek to get her to open her eyes.

She laughed, again, and brought back one of her arms to hold Sasuke's hand against her face. "Sasuke, calm down. I'm alright. It's over."

He gritted his teeth. "You said it hurt."

"It aches. Kind of burns. It's marvelous."

"It's _what_?"

"It's not a bad pain! It's like -- when you've been running for hours, and -- you know, you hit your stride, and then your legs feel like they might have fallen off and you just haven't noticed yet, but you could run for days and never have to stop. It's like that."

She was grinning, Naruto could hear it. He couldn't see anything but Sasuke's sudden stillness.

"What's up, guys?" Naruto asked cautiously, wondering if perhaps he should sit up or something.

"Hmm?"

Sakura didn't sound concerned. Sasuke spared Naruto a quick, sideway glance, and then reversed his hold, catching Sakura's wrist and lifting it over her head.

She had claws.

She had claws, and neither she, nor Naruto really seemed to be able to do much more than dumbly stare at her hand.

He wondered if, like him, she had trouble seeing the problem. She was alive. They weren't going to have to watch her waste away, bedridden. They weren't going to have to leave her behind.

... So she had claws. So what? Naruto did, too. It looked kinda hot on her, even.

"... Oh."

"' _Oh_ '? That's all you have to say?" Sasuke shook his head. "Something's wrong with you."

"No, there isn't," Sakura replied sulkily.

"Yes, there is. You have _claws_. You should be..."

"--I should be freaking out?" Now she sounded irritated. "It's just temporary chakra-induced euphoria and some keratin growth. My hair is probably a little longer and more bristly as well. It's _nothing_ , I'll trim my nails and it will be gone." She sat up, sighed, gave Sasuke a softer look. "I know I'm not much as far as medic-nins go, but I would have to be really horrible to miss such a gross imbalance. It feels weird, but it's not hurting me."

"Unless it's making you euphoric to make you miss the smaller details, like the fact that _it's changing you_."

"It. Can't. Do. That," she growled.

Naruto twitched his nose, and interrupted her before she could add something else. He liked her when she was assertive, and seeing her stand up to Sasuke was always a treat, but not when Sasuke was only riding her ass because he didn't know how else to show he was worried. "Ehh. Sakura-chan, just let him check the seal. If it's done properly it shouldn't allow Kyuubi to change you for good, right?"

Sasuke glared at him, then at her, and then back at him, with a touch of desperation. "She's growling!"

Naruto rolled to his side slowly. The room briefly tried waltzing around him, and then settled down; but everything stayed too bright and detailed. "Yeah, well. The old man told us there would be bleedover."

Sakura made a face. "That's not a word."

Naruto sat up, leaning heavily on his hand. "You understood it, right? That makes it a word. Stop whining and let Sasuke check you out." He grinned suddenly, and waggled his eyebrows. "I know he's had long enough to do it with his eyes, but it's the kind of thing you see better with a... hands-on approach."

Sakura snorted and giggled, and let herself fall back on the floor, arms curved elegantly over her head. Her back arched up from the floor, offering her flat stomach. The seal covering it was no longer ink. Part of her now. Naruto liked the effect.

Sasuke stared at her for a few seconds, and then shook his head and concentrated chakra into his fingers, brushing them along the dark loops and swirls that sprawled on her skin. He started with the point closer to her solar plexus, made his way down every single arch and coil. Black hair framing high cheekbones, dark, slanted eyes, deadly serious -- worried. Naruto liked that, too. Both the face, and the feelings trying to hide behind it.

When Sasuke's fingers reached the point just above Sakura's pubis, she sighed. Naruto smirked a bit, and smirked more when Sasuke paused for a second before forcing himself to continue his check-up.

"So?" Naruto asked, when he managed to tear his eyes away from Sasuke's strong, callused hand on Sakura's belly.

Sasuke gave him a forbidding scowl, as if he could guess what Naruto was thinking -- he probably could, Naruto acknowledged, and tried not to leer -- and lifted his hand away from Sakura's skin. Sakura sighed again, this time disappointedly.

"Lean back. Let me see yours."

Naruto forgot his question as Sasuke crawled over Sakura's legs to get to him and crouched, a foot on each side of his knee. The blond leaned back on his hands, digging his claws into the wood when Sasuke's chakra brushed his skin. His own seal was still black as ink, refusing to fade, but he wasn't going to worry about that yet.

"...The link between you two seems to be dormant. As it should be. And the filters and stopgaps are in place..." Sasuke shook his head, raked a hand through his hair, visibly frustrated. "It still shouldn't have done that," he added, nodding toward the damaged walls and broken windows. "How the hell did he slip through? I thought he couldn't leave you!"

... Oh. Naruto blinked, tore his attention away from Sasuke's legs on both sides of his knee, his warmth so close, and the delicious thoughts of pulling Sasuke closer and making him ride his thigh -- tore his attention away _again_. "He didn't," Naruto replied, when Sasuke rolled back onto the balls of his feet to move away. "I went with him."

Even as languid and relaxed as she was, Sakura's eyes still snapped up to his face in a second. Sasuke's narrowed, threatening, and Naruto wanted to frown back at them for being so serious -- until he remembered what that meant.

"... I really did. I went with him." Naruto covered his eyes with his hand and laughed humorlessly. "So stupid. God."

"... So you let him trick you into invading Sakura?"

Sasuke's voice was dangerously soft. Naruto twitched. "I know, okay! I was expecting him to lie to me. And he didn't, he never lied for one second."

Sakura sat up and tilted her head. "So he... asked to see what his kit-incubator could take before bursting into flames, and you thought it sounded nice?"

"No! Goddammit, no." Naruto looked away, disgruntled. Guilt soured pretty girls in bras like nothing else. "He wasn't trying to hurt you; I'd never have let him if he'd even thought about hurting you."

"Hah! If that's his caresses, I don't want to see what his punches are like!"

Naruto wilted. "... You were just in his way."

"So he _was_ trying to get to the child," Sasuke retorted, vindicated.

"He didn't wanna hurt the baby." They were doubting his judgment, Naruto could tell. He bristled. "He wanted to do anything but hurt the baby."

"Because possessing it wouldn't hurt it, maybe?" Sasuke snapped back.

"He didn't wanna possess it! He wanted to make it stronger. So it would survive," Naruto added, and looked away, a hand pressed flat on his stomach. "He really wants the baby to survive."

"... Very badly?" Sasuke asked quietly, thoughtful and displeased.

"You have no idea how badly."

"Badly enough to change Sakura to make sure of that?"

Sakura's claws raked the floor as she gave Sasuke a harried glare. Her hair really was more bristly; it hung slightly past her shoulders, perhaps a little farther than it had yesterday, but the ends looked less like her usual smooth locks and more like she was attempting a pinker, slightly more gravity-prone version of Sasuke's duckbutt. "I told you I'm fine!"

"Eh, as long as Sakura-chan feeds the baby enough chakra, he doesn't care what she looks like. Human, not human, whatever. She could even be a cat or a horse -- hell, she could be an octopus; he doesn't give a shit. As long as the kid is kitsune."

He paused, gave his teammates a somber look.

"And... 's what he was trying to do. Make sure the baby would be one hundred percent kitsune."

There was a muscle twitching in Sasuke's jaw. "And you let him."

"It's not like I knew he would do that! He was just -- he was worried, okay? Like _'it's going to be weak and sickly'_ and _'what if it dies'_ and that's already stuff I was worrying about. So he didn't -- I didn't... think. We just wanted to make sure the kit would be alright." Naruto grimaced. "Just not the same way."

Sakura moved a little closer on hands and knees. "And so you decided to flood me with chakra and try to take over together. What happened exactly? One second I was trying to dam a river and the next I was trying to swim in an ocean."

Naruto blinked at her. Didn't she remember -- the green corridor, and her own featureless inner room, and the two Sakuras? "But you were there," he protested.

"That doesn't mean I had much time to really map out your progress in my coils when I was getting hammered with wave after wave of demonic chakra," she replied tartly.

"... Chakra?"

She tilted her head; Sasuke frowned and placed his palm on Naruto's forehead, fingers catching in his hair, and angled Naruto's face to stare into his eyes. "What's wrong with you, dead-last? Dizzy?"

... She didn't remember the fight in the soul-room? Kyuubi with Naruto's face? The second, see-through Sakura? That was... huh. He opened his mouth to explain, and then closed it again. He didn't want to sound crazy. "Nah, sorry, I was distracted. But hey, he didn't succeed, right? Blocked him before he reached his goal. So everything's alright."

Sasuke didn't seem convinced. Sakura either. Now he had to distract them, before they started questioning him. But then Sasuke was still kneeling over his thigh, a hand in Naruto's hair, and Sakura sitting with her legs folded together at her side and shirtless and still absently raking her claws on the floor, so it probably wouldn't be too difficult.

... And then Sasuke sighed, hand falling, and his shoulders slumped a little. "Fine, whatever." He shifted his weight back and to the side, as if wanting to sit on the floor; but it was either between Naruto's knees or against Sakura's side, and, apparently, he needed to think a bit on which would be the most unacceptable.

Naruto was about to make the choice for him; but then he noticed that Sasuke's hand, the one half-hidden behind his leg, wasn't really all that steady. "Hey... You alright?"

Sasuke frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Dunno, you look... Not fine."

"You're looking wrong," he snapped, and turned away when Sakura peered at him.

Yeah, right. Sasuke was still kind of pale, Naruto wasn't sure how he'd missed it. "No, don't think so."

Sasuke growled and rolled his eyes. "Who do you think was holding the wards and trying to complete the seal while you were playing chakra flash-flood?" He still wouldn't look at Sakura, and only gave Naruto a quick glare before glancing away again. "...I'm a little tired, that's all."

\-- which meant it wasn't just simple exhaustion, or else he wouldn't have admitted even that much. But if he was admitting it, it meant he was using it as misdirection for something more. Damn it. Naruto scowled, opened his mouth to prod him again.

Sakura moved fluidly up on her knees, and leaned against Sasuke's back. She rested a hand on his shoulder; the other crept around his chest. "I'm sorry we worried you," she whispered against his shoulder, and then she hugged him and Sasuke pretty much stopped breathing.

Naruto watched. The curve of Sakura's hip and the contour of her breast against Sasuke's shoulder, and her claws brushing against his collarbone. And Sasuke's clenched fists, tendons rolling under his skin, and the arch of his neck, and his eyes, unfocused and -- vulnerable. Almost.

"... I wasn't worried," Sasuke muttered under his breath, halfheartedly. And then he closed his eyes, and Naruto knew that it had been much worse than simple worry.

He reached out to stabilize Sasuke's unsteady crouch, a hand on his chest -- blue cloth, cool skin underneath. Sasuke opened his eyes to look at him, and Naruto slipped a hand around his neck and pulled him down for a short, insistent kiss.

"Hey, asshole."

Sasuke glared at him, but it didn't have any fire in it. "What, dead-last?"

We're fine, Naruto wanted to say. He even wanted to give an apology for scaring him, but then Sasuke would kill them both just so he could pretend it had never happened. So in the end Naruto just grinned. "It's not that late, is it? The seal didn't take that long. Not even -- what, eleven? Eleven thirty?"

"I think so..." Sakura gave him a curious look from over Sasuke's shoulder. Naruto beamed.

"Good! Then it means we've got the rest of the night to celebrate."

And before either of them could tell him no, he closed his fingers on Sasuke's t-shirt and pulled, bringing them both down on top of him. Their weight knocked the breath out of him; he wheezed out a laugh, his arms moving around to hold them both.

"Don't you think we have more important things to do?" Sasuke protested as he tried to find a support to push himself off Naruto.

"Oh, lay off about the seal, we've been working on it nonstop for the last month and a half, maybe longer. It's over now."

Sasuke sneered at him and tried to push himself up on his hands despite Sakura's weight on his back. "I was thinking more about checking that we're not about to be invaded by a platoon of ANBU."

"They can watch," Sakura offered magnanimously.

Sasuke craned his neck to stare at her, and he and Naruto blinked in unison.

"... Gee, don't laugh so hard at my jokes, guys, they're not that funny."

Naruto smirked. "And here I was happy you were finally getting kinky."

"You two--"

Naruto growled, cutting Sasuke off before he could get going. "Shut up. We're going to go to bed and fuck like bunnies. That's what we're going to do. And if the ANBU wants a look, they can cough up an entry fee and shut the hell up."

"You can't be serious," Sasuke growled back, though Naruto thought his voice lacked the proper resonance to make it vicious enough.

"I'm serious," Sakura replied instead, and then she bit Sasuke's shoulder.

By the way Sasuke jerked, Naruto thought he could safely assume she had also grown fangs.

By what he could feel now against his stomach, Sasuke wasn't as not-in-the-mood as he was trying to pretend. That or even his steely self-control wasn't absolute enough to fight teenage hormones.

"--Sakura -- Naruto, don't be stupid, we'll have all the time in the world later -- we should be erasing our tracks, reassuring -- nngh."

Naruto's hands were tight on Sasuke's hips; he tangled their legs together, rubbed the side of his foot against one of Sakura's calves and watched her nibble on Sasuke's ear.

"Like everyone involved in the whole surveillance business doesn't already think we're having sex!" she grumbled. She was blushing, but it didn't make her scowl any less determined. "So if they're going to think we're doing it regardless, I wouldn't mind it actually happening. It's been _months_!"

"Only two..."

Naruto grinned, eyes narrowed predatorily. "Sasuke... Don't make us tear off your clothes with our teeth. We'd do it."

"Oh, can the porn star lines," Sasuke snapped, and heaved himself up suddenly. Sakura squeaked, rolled to the side. Naruto started to dig his fingers into Sasuke's hips, but his claws caught skin and he hesitated. Sasuke tore himself free too fast, and then there were faint white lines in the middle of the red imprints left by Naruto's fingers.

They all sat on the floor, Sakura with her legs folded to the side, Naruto with his own stretched out, Sasuke ready to push himself up.

And then Sakura leaned toward Sasuke, slipped a finger in his collar, and pulled down.

"...I think I like the claws," she mused, staring at her hand in surprise and approval. Sasuke was gaping at her, sitting there dumbly with his t-shirt torn open down to his stomach.

Naruto started laughing, and reached for Sasuke to tear off the rest of his clothes. Startled out of his astonishment, Sasuke batted his hands away, pushing himself away from them with his heels.

... Hohoho.

Naruto rolled on his hands and knees, and grinned. He'd been meaning to jump Sakura's bones too, but in the mood she was in right now, it was a toss-up who would jump each other first... And getting Sasuke to accept that it was _over_ already and that they were _safe_ and _together_ came first -- she already knew that.

He could always tackle and bite and happily fuck her afterwards.

They kept moving forward on hands and knees; Sasuke kept moving back on his ass. The scene would probably look quite ridiculous to an outsider, but Naruto didn't care, because there was an off-balance look in Sasuke's eyes, and he could catch glimpses of his nipples and flat stomach through the torn shirt, and Sakura's bra really wasn't hiding much, and Naruto really, really enjoyed seeing her like that.

"This isn't funny -- are you _hunting_ me?"

Sakura huffed, blowing a pink lock away from her face. "Yes. And I'm sure I'll be very sorry tomorrow. I'll apologize, even."

Sasuke tried to move to the side, but Naruto crawled that way to flank him. The black-haired boy glared at him briefly -- and Sakura pounced.

Sasuke wheezed, the breath knocked from his lungs. "Sakura, damn it, what's gotten into you!?"

Naruto laughed, hard and loud and way too amused; "It's more about what hasn't." and Sasuke glared at him briefly --

\-- Straddling Sasuke's hips, she took fistfuls of Sasuke's shirt to tear off, leaned down to get in his face. She was breathing hard -- annoyance, arousal, Naruto didn't know and didn't care.

"Sakura--"

"You're _hard_ , Sasuke," she snapped back with surprising anger. Under her, Sasuke had stopped breathing. "You're hard and you want it, and like hell you're going to have 'I was drunk' as an excuse every single time this happens. So I'm giving you a choice."

Naruto stared, shocked. This... was a lot deeper than simple annoyance at Sasuke's frigid ways.

"Tell me it isn't for me, not even a little bit. Tell me I'm not hot enough for you, tell me you just don't like me like that; tell me whatever. But tell me now, and mean it. Because otherwise I'm going to have sex with you."

"... Sakura..." Sasuke hesitated, frowned -- and then Sakura was kissing him, hard, with teeth. It wasn't a gentle, lingering kiss, or a sexy, enticing kiss. There was despair in there; love, too, lots and lots, and desire and pain.

Naruto realized he wasn't breathing much either.

He wanted them both so much -- for so much more than just sex. He wanted to hold them and possess them and be possessed by them and know that they were never going to let go, and he wanted to feel their fingers between his as they came, and he wanted them to give themselves to him -- not even for the thrill of calling the shots, just for the trust and the love, and the belonging to him, belonging with them. And what Sakura wanted -- it was just that.

Teammates -- being teammates was everything. And yet in the long run it wasn't going to be enough.

When Sasuke's arms rose and wound themselves around her back, reluctant at first, and then tight enough to make his muscles shift under his skin, make the breath leave her in a startled little gasp, Naruto shuddered and threw himself at them. He wound an arm around Sakura's waist, dug his fingers into Sasuke's biceps, and bit and kissed her shoulder. Sasuke was kissing Sakura back now, eyes closed; when she whimpered breathlessly, Sasuke made a startled little grunt in echo.

Naruto whined softly, desperate. Because Sasuke... Because that was what Sakura wanted to know, if he'd ever, ever let her in -- and now there Naruto was, alone on the outside, and he was glad for them both -- and he couldn't take it.

"Love you," he whispered past the knot in his throat. He didn't even know which one he was saying it to. "Love you, love you."

Sakura's breath hitched and she broke the kiss, just long enough to nod jerkily. Naruto didn't know what it meant -- who she wanted to tell it to. Sasuke was panting under her, his fingers still digging into her back, his eyes still closed. Naruto growled, pushed her aside enough to get at his mouth -- he bit him, tasted blood, was bit back. Good. Sakura rubbed her cheek against his, and her lips; dropped kisses on Naruto's eyebrow and Sasuke's eyelid and the flat of his nose, and then her lips brushed his and Sasuke's somehow -- and he hadn't known they could do that, a three-way kiss. It was awkward, with little freedom of movement, but it calmed him down a little anyway. He laughed, more out of relief than amusement.

"Love you," Sakura choked out. Naruto kissed wetness away, and she closed her eyes.

Against his arm, he could feel Sasuke's hand undoing her bra strap, and he laughed again, shocked and a little thrilled, and really, not surprised at all that Sasuke was trying to get out of saying it back. "Asshole."

Sakura laughed with him, and kissed Sasuke again, hands cupping his face. The two of them paused, just -- looking into each other's eyes, and Naruto felt like a fifth or even seventh wheel again, but this time he made himself not interrupt. Sakura-chan getting Sasuke to _want_ , not just tolerate her -- Sasuke learning not to be quite so wary and guarded... It was great for them both. It really was. She'd be good for him.

"... Asshole yourself, retard."

Sakura burst out into snickers, because Sasuke hadn't even looked away from her one second, but his hand was still under Naruto's nose, closed into a fist but for his middle finger.

What could Naruto do, but sneer at him and then bite it? Nothing else, really. Fucking angsty, antisocial bastard. He wrapped his lips around Sasuke's finger and sucked wetly, still glaring at him, daring him to make something of it.

"... Fuck."

Naruto smirked and curled his tongue around the base of Sasuke's finger a last time. "I'd think it's closer to a blowjob, myself."

Sakura was still laughing herself breathless, in between two kisses to Sasuke's jaw. "Boys. You're getting all worked up over going down on a _finger_."

Sasuke made an annoyed noise and slipped his Naruto-free hand under her to cup a breast, making her gasp and stop laughing very quickly. "Shut up, or you won't get any."

Sakura squeaked in outrage and sat up on him hurriedly. "Just try to stop me!"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh, and laugh. He'd never seen them so arousing -- both flushed in offended annoyance, Sasuke pinned down between Sakura's thighs and Sakura fighting to whip off her own bra. Visibly she intended to ride him like a pony. "Hold your -- heh -- hold your horses, Sakura-chan. Might be better in the bedroom, yeah?"

She glared at him for interrupting, claws digging into the floor on both sides of Sasuke's head.

"... Also, if you let him get up, it will be a lot easier to yank his pants down. 'Cause you know, right now it's gonna be a bit complicated."

A second later, Sasuke was alone on the floor, sprawled on his back between her feet, and she was pulling on his arm to get him to stand up.

"What the hell?!" Sasuke protested. He looked quite molestable, with reddened hickeys on his skin and hair all over the place, and Naruto was tempted to yank his pants off and jump him right there anyway.

"I want to be in our bed," Sakura retorted. Naruto blinked, because it wasn't much of a bed -- three layers of blankets, and ratty sleeping bags -- but the way she said it, it was a king-sized, artistically carved oak affair with down-filled pillows.

One that needed proper christening.

He could get behind that.

He leaned down, caught Sasuke's other arm to haul him up. Scowling, Sasuke tried to pull free, but neither he nor Sakura relaxed their grip; and then there were two sets of claws at his waistband anyway.

Naruto really appreciated working in tandem with Sakura-chan. Especially when it was about shredding Sasuke's clothes off him.

"My pants, you retards! You're both crazy!"

They probably were, at that. But it seemed 'crazy' got Sasuke going anyway. And seeing how much Sasuke really wanted them, no matter what he pretended, didn't make Naruto's own underwear feel any less constricting.

"... Okay! We're going now." Claw-tipped fingers circling Sasuke's wrist, Sakura forged ahead, bare feet stomping on the wooden planks, small, firm breasts bouncing freely in rhythm with her steps. Sasuke went along with it for a few steps, a little dazed, but when they passed through the door between the dojo and the house, he dug in his heels.

"Wait--"

"No!" Naruto interrupted him. "No more wait. I'm tired of waiting." Naruto twisted Sasuke's arm behind his back -- Sasuke let him -- and pushed the black-haired boy forward with his body. If he stole a grope or two in the process of manhandling Sasuke there, it wasn't Sakura who was going to berate him.

It was dark in the living room, where they slept, but Sakura's skin was pale and her biker shorts black, and so it wasn't easy to miss it when she rolled them down her legs.

She went to the nest of blankets they called a bed and sat there, waiting.

This time Naruto didn't need to push Sasuke to join her. They went together, shoulder against shoulder.


	9. 9 - Optional Porn (woohoo. I mean, Naruto.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written two years after the rest of the fic! *loses*

When Sasuke sank to his knees on the edge of the blankets, Naruto paused, eyes taking in the tableau -- Sakura sitting there, back straight, chin high, wearing not a thing and the seal nestled between her hips -- but Naruto knew if he allowed Sasuke to start thinking again they'd never get to have all that sex they hadn't gotten in the last weeks. He was sick and tired of being in a threesome and yet technically celibate.

Naruto was -- still a little jealous, just a little pinch of envy. The challenging tilt of Sakura's jaw, the way she leaned back on her arms to display that trim, slender body -- it wasn't for him. But he understood. Because Sasuke never used to look at her like that... Intense, surprised. Noticing.

It occurred to him at the last second that it would be a bad time to make a 'whoa, so you're not gay after all' joke. He closed his jaw with a little snap and grinned guilelessly when Sakura arched an eyebrow at him.

Then her eyes slid down Naruto's bare chest, over the seal and to the tent in his boxers, and in her face he could see the same kind of slightly startled, mostly interested _noticing_ as Sasuke's. Naruto's dick instantly went from 'hard' to 'oh please fuck me now'.

Sasuke's eyes had followed Sakura's, and were now taking Naruto's body in; it was more narrow-eyed, more measuring, hiding his reaction because if he showed too much he would lose face in the permanent competition they were always playing.

At the moment Naruto was tired of that competition. And of talking, and waiting, and pretending he was fine with doing the 'teammates who sometimes make out' thing. So he kicked off his underwear, fell into a crouch against Sasuke's side -- slightly chilled skin, needed warming up -- and he kissed him with his mouth open, his hand resting on Sakura's bare knee. He rubbed his thumb against her soft inner thigh, hand kneading its way up to the flash of pink pubic hair.

Sasuke groaned in his mouth, and pushed them both down on the bed under him. Naruto groped blindly, breaking their kiss only to start nibbling on Sakura's shoulder. Her hand slid in Sasuke's hair, a tight-fisted grip that Sasuke didn't protest. Nestled against Sakura's side, Naruto watched them kiss over the curve of her breast, a hand running down Sasuke's back to grope at his ass. His hands fit so neatly there it was a wonder he hadn't taken to groping him years ago.

Sakura laughed breathlessly in Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke growled, gave a brief, pointed shake of his head; she laughed again, eyes bright, because it was intended as a reminder that her hold wouldn't stop him if he really wanted to go, even if he had to leave half his hair behind -- but what it really meant was that he _was_ allowing it, that he maybe even _wanted_ it, this hand tangled in his hair to tug his face this way and that. Naruto groaned again as he watched, a hand sneaking down to his cock to give himself a little bit of relief.

"Stop laughing," Sasuke said again, nipping at her lip, sending Naruto a quick sidelong glare. Naruto realized he was grinning just as toothily as Sakura herself. "Stop laughing, it's not _funny_."

"Shh, shh," she said, cupping his cheek with her free hand, expression gentling away from that exhilarated, possessive pleasure. "It's over now. It's done. We won. We're here."

"You stopped breathing," he rasped out. " _You stopped breathing._ "

Something in Naruto's chest clenched. His arm went around Sasuke's back, squeezed, but Sasuke wasn't in a mood to be comforted, he was angry again.

"Hey, it's alright--"

"You stopped _breathing_ , this is _not_ alright, this is _never going to be alright_ and I'll fucking kill you two myself if you ever do that again--"

Naruto closed his eyes and pressed himself against Sasuke's side, trying his best to envelop him in the tightest hug he'd ever given. He wanted to cover him whole, to surround all of him, but Sasuke was the same size he was and that wasn't going to be possible -- but with Sakura there to wrap herself around the rest it almost worked.

"Never," Sakura said, choked up, and Naruto mourned the small flame of feral madness a little and tried to tell his aching cock that he was perfectly fine postponing the wild sex antics for two more months. Sasuke should never sound like that, ever, and if he needed hugs all night then he'd get hugs all night and that was it.

"... Stop smothering me and let's get to fucking already," Sasuke said, breathless and grumpy from being squeezed too tight.

Naruto cracked up, mostly from relief.

They spent some time kissing each other blindly, hands traveling and groping and sometimes getting in each other's way, and when he met Sakura's hand on the back of Sasuke's thigh he followed it up to her shoulder, almost, and then went back down his spine. Leaning over his elbow, he could only use one hand, but he felt both of their bodies squirming and pushing against his. Sasuke's fingers dug into his waist and he yanked Naruto even closer, half on top of Sakura who wheezed out a purring laugh. Their legs were so tangled he wasn't even sure whose touched which and where.

They probably couldn't have untangled in time if a whole platoon had burst in right this instant. He only wanted to tangle even more.

"We need a better mattress," Sakura said, with one arm around each of their necks to reel them in. She kissed Sasuke and then Naruto, a quick press of open mouth, and then nudged them back.

"--Are we squashing you?" Sasuke asked, trying to push himself up on one arm, but she didn't let his neck go.

She slipped her fingers in inky hair again and tugged so he would turn his head toward Naruto; Naruto stared back at him, fascinated, so close their breaths mingled and noses almost touched.

The small hand on his side gave the back of his neck a quick squeeze before curling along his jaw. He stopped breathing when a slender finger brushed against his mouth, the curved point of her claw pressing gently against the full curve of his bottom lip.

"Show me," she whispered. Sasuke's eyes were black but burning anyway.

Naruto parted his lips and took that fingertip in. The angle made taking it all awkward, her arm curled behind and around him as it was, finger curled as well. He craned his neck to take more in, to catch a second one. He had to be careful not to catch himself on the tips when he swirled his tongue around.

Sasuke's breath hitched. From the corner of his eye Naruto saw Sakura's green eyes go veiled, darkened with desire.

When she pulled her fingers free all wet and brushed them against Sasuke's lips again, there was barely a second of hesitation before he took them -- with his teeth. Sakura laughed low and purry again, gave his hair a tug. "Bad boy."

Eyes fluttering closed for a brief second, Sasuke groaned then, a small sound that he hadn't intended to make, and Naruto bit his lip when he wrapped his lips around her index and middle finger and swallowed them almost to the base.

He bobbed his head -- once, twice, and then his eyes slitted open again and he paused, calculation and pride waking again.

Sakura tssked. "Now how about you show me on the real thing."

"Oh fuck, Sakura-chan," Naruto groaned, half-laughing. "My blood just drained south."

"How about the rest of you follows it there?" she suggested sweetly, her claws tracing little designs on the back of his neck. He could still see her knuckles in Sasuke's hair, leading him to roll off her and on his side, holding him as if he might run even now. Sasuke wasn't even struggling against it, just periodically giving little twitches that seemed to Naruto more like he was making sure she still held on properly.

If he insisted that Sasuke go first, he'd come in his mouth in about three seconds and never live it down. He gave his aching cock another quick, pacifying rub and crawled his way down.

Sakura pushed herself up, piled pillows behind her upper body one-handed as she held Sasuke's cheek pressed to her chest. They were both staring at Naruto, though, identical expressions on their faces -- skin flushed, lips parted, intense and expectant.

"God, you're fucking gorgeous," he told them both, warmth gathering in his belly and a desire to possess, to _mark_ them both curling his claws in the bedsheets.

He moved smoothly on hands and knees and growled, kind of like a purr, head hanging toward Sasuke's cock as he stared up right into Sakura's eyes.

"Instructions, mistress?" he said, voice a little mocking, purring almost like a threat.

She was only his mistress for now, for the way it made Sasuke shudder and because the game was delightful so far and well worth biding his time. Sakura's eyes narrowed, almost as predatorily as his.

"I think Sasuke should be on his back," she said after careful deliberation, not really like a suggestion at all. Sasuke wasn't done twitching in startled offense that Naruto's hands were already on his hips and rolling him over. "Tut tut, Sasuke-kun. It's good like that -- isn't it?"

There was a frown on Sasuke's face that said 'unconvinced', but his cock could have drilled through as many mountain ranges as Naruto's at this point, so he didn't take it seriously.

He waited for a second, two. Sakura seemed to waver, nervousness flickering across her face briefly, but when he let a teasing smirk stretch his lips she narrowed her eyes again.

"Just your lips for now," she ordered, and because it made him laugh like an evil bastard to make Sasuke groan in frustration, he went with it.

The skin of his cock was soft as silk. Warm. He _smelled_ warm too, and male, and _interesting_. Naruto kissed the shaft, his eyes finding Sasuke's now. The second he saw him watching, his bastard slammed an indifferent expression on his face. Naruto laughed rough and amused against his cock, because he'd just felt it twitch.

"... Tongue," Sakura said, a little breathlessly.

Naruto licked a long, winding path from the root to the crown of his head. And a second. The third swirled the tip of his tongue all the way around the head.

He kissed it, mouth almost closed, because Sakura hadn't told him to take it in and Sasuke's toes were curled with anticipation, even though his face was still impassible.

"You're a real tease," Sakura laughed.

Naruto grinned, shrugged -- 'heh, what can you do' -- and swallowed.

He was aware of their breathing as he sucked, fast and hitching, almost in synch; you'd have believed he was going down on Sakura as well but he didn't think either of them was even touching her, or that she was touching herself. For a minute he concentrated on Sasuke, on the cock in his mouth and the rhythm and the way he should press his tongue, but when he thought he had it down, at least enough for a holding pattern, he sneaked a hand up Sakura's thigh. She slapped it away.

"Hey, no distracting me."

He laughed around Sasuke's rock hard cock, managing to choke himself a little. Sasuke shuddered, whether at the laughter or the gagging he didn't know.

"Voyeur," he said as he pulled his head up, fingers wrapped around the base of Sasuke's wet cock to keep him interested.

Sakura blushed, not that it was all that obvious with the flush of arousal already on her face -- his telltale was mostly her embarrassed scowl. "Shut up and blow him already."

"Ooh, I love it when you talk all vulgar, Sakura-chan--"

"Shut up and blow me already," Sasuke retorted, and pushed his head back down.

Naruto laughed around his cock again and sucked twice as hard as he'd been. Bastard.

He'd never really gone down on anyone -- not counting that first crazy, feverish night two months ago -- and he wasn't even going to attempt a deepthroat -- choking and throwing up were risks he wasn't going to take right now, thanks -- but he'd had a lot of fantasies, and he knew what he liked. He went about trying some of that out, thinking how strange it was that having a cock in his mouth didn't make him feel unmanly at all. Rather the other way around, really, because the first time Sasuke's iron control broke and he tried to thrust up, Naruto felt tempted to strut and brag his way across the whole village for that feat of overwhelming manliness.

It was, he reflected, pretty awesome, but sadly in a way he could probably never get Kiba or Shikamaru to understand.

"Naruto -- Naruto, stop."

For a moment he didn't even really hear her. He blinked up in confusion as Sasuke growled.

"What?"

Her eyes were cat-narrow and cat-evil. She twirled a lock of black hair around her finger, playful. "He's not going to do very well on his turn if you give him his reward first."

"Oh hell no, Sakura--"

"Shh." She petted his hair, rested her cheek against his temple. Her fingers were trembling, but from the light burning in her eyes excitement seemed to dominate nervousness. "You're not coming right now," she said softly, encouraging. "Do a good job first. Show me."

"You are a _bitch_ ," Sasuke muttered slowly, like he'd only had that revelation just now. Naruto could have told him years ago. "You are an _evil_ bitch."

Sakura smirked, eyes heavy-lidded. Naruto surreptitiously sneaked a hand to his own cock to give himself another quick squeeze.

"I love you too. Naruto, a last kiss for the road?"

Eyes laughing, delighted, Naruto obliged her, his lips parting wetly against the head of Sasuke's cock.

She patted her free side, and he went, crawling up her body and flopping against her side like a lazy predator. He lifted up a bended knee, spreading his thighs to show off his aching cock. Just Sasuke's eyes on it made his heart beat faster. Sakura leaned into him for a kiss, and he growled, tongue pushing between her lips to fuck her mouth. She kissed back hungrily, chasing the taste of Sasuke on him.

He saw Sasuke move from the corner of his eye, but that gave him little warning before wet warmth swallowed him down.

"Oh, shit--" Naruto gasped, throwing his head back. He rolled his hips, though being on his side wasn't making things easy.

He and Sakura looked down in tandem. Sasuke was curled over her hip to reach his cock, and he glared up at them both with angry eyes even as his cheeks curved in and little stars exploded under Naruto's eyelids. Sakura's hand slid in Sasuke's hair again. Naruto's eyes fixated on that, pale fingers in dark locks, even as they started unfocusing. He could still see that pale hand bobbing, up and down, in time with the feelings, the wet suction.

"--Heh. A bit -- a bit boring, huh? Just up and down like this--" Ohgod. Yeah okay up and down was the basics of cocksucking for a reason apparently and ohh yes. Yes. But it was like a rule that he had to give Sasuke shit about it-- "Hey!"

Sasuke crawled over Sakura's legs and pushed his ass flat on the bed, hands clenched on Naruto's hips. "I'll give you boring," he threatened under his breath. Sakura made a happy, high-pitched little squeak.

Naruto gave her a mildly betrayed look. She was supposed to be his co-molestator there, not an accomplice in Naruto's own molestation. "Sakura-chan!"

"No, no, he's doing very well on his own, aren't you, Sasuke-kun." She was already breathless, thighs squeezed together as she watched Sasuke glare over Naruto's angry-red erection.   
Sasuke didn't tease. He didn't smirk and press soft, affectionate little kisses, or lick little patterns, or anything of the sort. He just attacked. One second Naruto was glaring back at him and the next his eyes were crossing and the head of his cock was hitting the back of Sasuke's throat.

Sasuke gagged a little, but then he just did it again, fast and hard and demanding. His lips would be puffy afterwards. The thought was almost enough for Naruto to come undone, but that was just what the bastard wanted, for Naruto to come early and while part of him yelled ' _yes, please'_ the rest was determined to hold on.

There must have been something magnetic to Sasuke's hair, because both his hands were in there now. He wasn't too sure when and how, but there Naruto was, bucking under him as he tried to push Sasuke's mouth farther down on his cock. The bastard would look so smug at the loss of control and it only made Naruto growl and try to buck harder, but Sasuke put the weight of his whole upper body on his hips to keep him as pinned down as he could.

He came. Couldn't stop it. Back arched off the bed entirely, head thrown back, unable to stop moving and thrusting, gagging him on accident but it felt so good and he was still in Sasuke's mouth, he was coming there, and Sasuke was his his his --

Sakura was making little pleased noises in his ear as she cuddled his biceps in her cleavage. Naruto melted in the blankets, smiling blissfully at the ceiling.

"... Oh yeah. That was nice."

"I thought it was boring," Sasuke said, giving him the evil eye, and rubbed a trail of Naruto's semen off his reddened lips with the back of his hand.

Naruto's post-coital haze disappeared and he sat up in a leap, catching Sasuke's upper arm.

"What?"

" _Did you swallow?_ "

Sitting at his side, Sakura gave a little gasp. Sasuke glared harder.

Stifling a groan, his still-way-too-sensitive cock twitching weakly, Naruto reeled him in for a kiss.

Naruto didn't want to think how disgusting come tasted fresh, when the aftertaste was like that, but that didn't stop him from mapping every square inch of Sasuke's mouth. He'd come in there. He'd had his cock in there and his come splattered there and fuck but he wanted to be hard again and do it all night long. He ran his hand down Sasuke's chest, wanting to jerk him off, feel it twitch in his hand.

Sakura molded herself to his back and bit his shoulder, claws against his belly. Naruto jerked, his attention reeled back. Teeth almost at his neck, claws on such a vulnerable area... he stilled.

"What are you planning to do with that?" Sakura growled in his ear, nibbling sharply.

"... Handjob?"

"No."

"Blowjob?" Naruto tilted his head. Sasuke looked more interested in that one.

"No."

"Hey," Sasuke protested. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"So... What am I doing with his cock?" Naruto asked dutifully, trying not to laugh. He supposed it _was_ her turn now, no matter how much she'd enjoyed watching. Voyeurism was a preliminary as best.

Sakura's lips closed around his earlobe and sucked. "You take it in your hands..."

Oh, he was down with that. He tugged on Sasuke's arm a little, to get him to come closer, and leaned into her again. "Yeah?"

"And you put it in me."

Naruto's spent cock made a valiant effort to rise back to duty.

"--Okay yes I can do that."

She looked at Sasuke. "Unless you object?"

Sasuke wet his lips absently. "...No, not especially."

Sakura poured her body around Naruto's, cupped Sasuke's face with both hands, and pulled him in for a kiss. His arms rose to catch her wrists, but he didn't pull her off. Naruto watched them for a few seconds, both lithe and graceful and way too pretty. His lovers. His boyfriend and girlfriend.

He let them continue kissing as he guided them into a better sitting position, a nudge here, a tug here, until Sakura straddled Sasuke's thighs, Sasuke's head tilted back to keep their lips sealed together. Her claws left fine reddened lines on his pale skin.

Naruto slipped a hand between her thighs, felt her wet pubic hair against his wrist. He cupped her pussy, rubbed a little, laughing in her ear as she mewled. "Naughty, naughty Sakura-chan," he purred even as he found Sasuke's cock and held it steady for her to sink down on it.

He watched again with a sort of satiated pleasure as they rocked together, finding their rhythm. Just gorgeous. Sakura still seemed to feel the effects of the seal, or simply the confidence boost of finding her men willing and responsive to her orders, rolling her hips with a sharp twist that spoke of assertive, unashamed determination.

"You were so beautiful", she whispered against Sasuke's lips, voice pitched low, and she licked his lower lip right where he'd had come smeared on. Surprise flickered in Sasuke's eyes, a sort of flustered kind whose precise shade Naruto didn't remember ever seeing before.

Naruto was against his back in a second, pressing his mouth to his bare shoulder, arms wound around them both and joining behind Sakura's shoulder blades. She laughed breathlessly and kissed Sasuke where Naruto just had. They stared at each other over Sasuke's shoulder for a second and then meshed their mouths together, her claws prickling Naruto's back just as his own prickled hers, with Sasuke caught between them.

"Fuck -- don't do that," Sasuke panted, pushed into Naruto's chest by Sakura's weight.

"Fuck yes we'll do that," Naruto retorted, and his fangs found the dead Curse Seal on his neck and bit down.

He wanted to mark them, he wanted to mark them both but he didn't want to hurt them but there was that loathsome, beautiful, terrible thing that was not his own mark on his bastard and there wasn't anything like that on his babe, except for the pipeline seal over her belly right where she cradled their child.

He tasted blood.

Sakura snarled at him, and when he pulled back she sealed her lips over Sasuke's wound and she bit him too. Sasuke was stiff between them, not even breathing, and then he let out a hoarse cry that sounded like it had been torn out through all his defenses, and he came caught between the two of them.

On their sides afterwards, still sandwiching him tight, Naruto and Sakura caressed whatever they could reach of each other while Sasuke panted in their arms, eyes closed, messy black hair stuck to his skin with sweat. He could still taste the blood. Naruto felt so possessive, so alive -- he knew she did too, they would fight side by side until the ends of the Earth to keep that bastard where he belonged.

He thought, ' _she would make such a wonderful vixen_ ', and wasn't even bothered.

For a second it was like a faint echo between them, like feeling each other's pulse through more than just skin. He disengaged from Sasuke, left him curled on his side so he could stares down at Sakura but she didn't want to be stared down at and pushed herself up on one arm as well.

The seal was so black against her skin. Beautiful on her, not monster and death like his own but protection and life. There were curls in there his own didn't have, elegant. Stylized as they were, the patterns held a trace of Sasuke's handwriting. He pounced first, but not by much. They rolled on the blankets, nipping and kissing, Sakura squirming like an eel to make sure Naruto couldn't pin her, refusing to give up.

"You two are crazy," Sasuke commented as he pushed himself up on shaky arms, legs stretched out.

Naruto glanced at him, and then at Sakura, and laughed and he rolled them back over Sasuke's leg, right in the vee of his spread thighs.

Both on their sides now, their heads pillowed on Sasuke's thighs, looking up, smiling at their third. He watched them with his mouth slightly open, his eyes unguarded -- startled. Naruto pulled Sakura's knee over his hip, pushed his hard-again cock inside her, and she let out a throaty moan and clawed up his back.

Sasuke's limp cock was rolling there under Naruto's eyes as Naruto's thrusts rocked all of their bodies, so he took it in his mouth, because it was there. Sakura whimpered and clenched her inner walls around him like a vice, and then her mouth was there too, sometimes kissing Sasuke's cock and sometimes kissing him, and they kept rocking together until they were sated.

Afterwards Naruto and Sakura stayed right where they were, wrapped around each other, his softening cock slowly slipping out of her, feeling the wetness from both his and Sasuke's orgasm. Sasuke hadn't come a second time, but he had never told them to stop either.

"I can't feel my toes anymore," Sasuke said, slumping on his back like a felled tree. "Just so you know."

Naruto and Sakura started laughing together and slowly, tiredly crawled their way up his body.

"S'okay," Naruto consoled him. "For my third round you can just lay face down and go right to sleep."

"Oh, you're a pig," Sakura said, and shoved him, but after that she pulled him close again for a kiss.


	10. Epilogue - Damage Control (Kakashi)

Playing cards in the dark was, no doubt, out of reach of most men. It wasn't even Kakashi's deck; he'd had to guess the code of bent edges and creases on the identical rectangles of cardboard from scratch. It had been an uphill battle, but he wasn't doing too badly now : Jiraiya's nose wasn't keen enough to smell the difference between red and black ink, and Kakashi had taken to rubbing his fingers on his smoke bombs before handling hearts or spades.

Of course, the game was based as much on bluff as on sleight of hand, seeing as both of them had to trust in their belief that the cards they held were actually the ones they believed them to be. Or at least, had to move and sound like they trusted their belief enough that the other man would trust it too.

Really, it was a game made for liars; the cards were almost an excuse.

Kakashi had won a blank scroll, and a sneak peek at the next Icha Icha book, and lost a box of mint pastilles, five kunai and a backup mask, when the barrier went up around the Uchiha district, locking them in. He went on to lose a length of razor wire and get back a shuriken and a toothbrush before the game was put on hold.

Outside of the abandoned garden shack, the night was a lot less dark; not so much because of the full moon, or the streetlamps of the village behind the Uchiha walls -- but because three streets away, there was his brats' temporary house, with a cold, silvery glow streaming out of every single crack.

The windows were high and narrow, made more for aeration than for a look or a way out, and no house faced them directly. Vantage points were rare, and Kakashi knew better than to try sticking to the walls of the dojo itself. Jiraiya was the specialist; Kakashi ceded his claim to the only signpost close to the dojo and waited on the nearest roof, his eye on Jiraiya's face. He could see the fluctuations of the chakra glow from the corner of his eye, but the best information on their progress he could get was the pinched look of the old sage's lips or his occasional approving nod.

They'd done the best they could to give his kids all information pertaining to their little attempt. But Kakashi hadn't been able to do more than steal a glance at Sakura's part of the equations; and even if Sasuke's were also perfect... Well, there was a risk. There was always a risk, when doing such a seal alone.

He'd wanted to be there from the start, but Jiraiya hadn't approved. If something went wrong, it was better for them to come across as the teachers who hadn't known, but had managed to salvage the situation anyway, than as having aided and abetted such a risky gamble. They couldn't help the brats if they were all locked up in the same cell, after all.

So they waited.

Comparatively speaking, they didn't have to wait very long. Kakashi didn't even need to see the flash of alarm on Jiraiya's face; the sudden burst of red-gold chakra was telling enough. He was breaking into the main house before he even heard the first tinkle of cracking glass. Red light filtered under the communication door between the house and the dojo.

The walls trembled. He heard a dull, heavy impact, Sasuke's gasp; he rushed for the door.

A sigil flared at him, burning his fingers before he could catch the handle, and he was torn between admiration at his kids' healthy professional paranoia and despair that this might give them the few seconds Kyuubi needed. They had redirected the excess energy from the sealing process to use as a power source for a barrier around the dojo.

It was a brilliant piece of work. If it didn't kill them, he would. He could see one of Jiraiya's huge frogs outside in the garden, kicking and kicking at the walls, which didn't budge any.

He could feel the Kyuubi's chakra behind the door, huge and malevolent, seeping into everything.

_"Sakura! Breathe, damn it -- breathe! Don't you dare-- Sakura!"_

The Chidori was supposed to be used against physical targets; he had never tried to see what would happen if it hit a barrier. Likely enough, it would overload and explode outwards with lethal force. He started to shape the seals.

"Kakashi," Jiraiya snapped from the garden. He sat atop his frog, a scroll tucked between thumb and index as he shaped a hand seal. Kakashi forced himself to be still, even when more glass broke, when the walls trembled again. He could barely hear Sasuke's voice over the crackle of red chakra.

_"--okay? You can do this. Listen to me. On three..."_

... Good. Sasuke had kept his cool. Good boy. Don't panic. Keep in control. The demon chakra pulsed, once, twice; Kakashi waited for a sudden flare. Jiraiya was still working on taking down the barrier. It had only been two minutes; that was already two minutes too long.

The red chakra started to build up. And build up, and up, like an avalanche waiting to happen, reeking of old blood and rage and death. Kakashi had felt it before; he didn't stumble, didn't pull back and throw up, but the bile still rose in his throat.

_"Naruto! What the hell are you doing?!"_

He started to ready the Chidori again.

_"Naruto, damn it, don't make me--"_

The rising tension in the dojo suddenly petered out, leaving Kakashi reeling. He braced himself for a reflux, but while the decrease of the malevolent chakra slowed down, it never did go back up.

But it didn't disappear -- Naruto's presence didn't disappear. Kakashi latched onto that, the hint of rambunctious chakra flickering behind that door. He didn't even want to think about what it would have done to Sasuke to be forced to put down his best friend.

The red light under the door died. Kakashi was still staring, trying to understand enough of their muffled mutterings to tell what was going on, when he heard Sakura laugh. He closed his eyes briefly, glanced at the old sage. Jiraiya's shoulders sagged in relief.

Slowly, Kakashi moved away from the door, and slunk out of the window to join the man and his frog in the garden.

"Everything alright?"

Jiraiya nodded. "The sigils on the floor look correct from here. The new seal seems to have taken hold properly..."

"... Good."

Jiraiya slid down his frog's back to stand in the overgrown grass. "Even if the seal is imperfect, we should have at least a few hours, at best a week, to fix it."

Kakashi shook his head ruefully. "Those brats are going to make me go gray early."

Jiraiya snorted at the poor joke, though it carried more agreement than mockery.

"I'll stay here to watch for trouble; you go and tell the ANBU to stand down."

Kakashi gave Jiraiya and his noble, responsible countenance a weary look. He could have bet the sage just didn't want to run the risk of having to deal with Tsunade-sama.

"Yes, yes..." he agreed tiredly, and went.

The Uchiha district's barrier was undoubtedly a great achievement, but, like any static defense, the lack of human casters to readjust to attacks gave it some vulnerabilities. Kakashi recognized an old barrier specialist, who looked like the ANBU had dragged him out of bed, at the head of the team prying away at one of the angles. Sasuke probably wouldn't appreciate seeing his barrier dismantled, especially since he didn't have the competences to build it back up, so Kakashi strolled that way first.

"Tachibana-san, hello!" he greeted cheerily from his roof.

The withered old man gave him a glare that would have stopped a whole platoon in their tracks -- a look that many of the jounin waiting on the opposing roofs echoed. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head guiltily, and waited as the commanders of two ANBU squads converged on him.

"Jiraiya-sama has the situation under control," he assured them before they could ask.

"What the hell is going on?" Crow mask demanded.

Kakashi shrugged noncommittally. "Where is Tsunade-sama?"

The set of Crow's shoulders indicated a whole lot of annoyance, but Bear stepped forward and Crow relaxed. Kakashi nodded amiably at the older female, who, despite the mask hiding her eyes, managed to convey her "cut the bullshit" look just fine.

"Jiraiya-sama is inside the barrier?" she asked for confirmation.

Kakashi nodded, amused that his reputation for evasiveness and willful misunderstandings was still going strong. "Yes. He's standing guard no farther than fifteen feet away from Naruto. There's no need to break open the barrier now. Sasuke-kun will take it down as soon as possible."

She considered him in silence for a few seconds, and then sighed briefly. "I suppose you can't tell us what happened yet."

"Sorry," Kakashi replied, almost sincerely.

"If you're trying to cover up for your students..."

Kakashi snorted softly. "Even with the barrier down, I don't see where they'd run to. If I'm covering for them, that's not going to do anything but delay the inevitable."

He was pretty sure they weren't convinced, and with good reason -- there was plenty you could do with a sufficient delay -- but Bear dispatched one of her men anyway. Kakashi sat on his heels and waited for Tsunade's orders.

She came directly instead, with two Councilmen trailing after her; Aburame Shibi and that old woman who had been the Third's teammate and personal advisor, Koharu. Tsunade looked positively thunderous.

"Kakashi," she growled, and briefly he was glad for the barrier between them.

"...Tsunade-sama!" He laughed, somewhat nervously. She looked furious enough to punch right through the barrier. "Ah, you didn't get Jiraiya's message?"

The Hokage went from thunderous to apocalyptic. "What kind of message is --" She managed to stop herself before a critical meltdown; Kakashi wasn't sure how. The barrier-breakers and the ANBU were doing their best to pretend that they weren't listening. "... Yes. I got his message. Five minutes ago."

"Ah. ...Well." Kakashi sighed. Maybe not warning Tsunade before her ANBU reported the incident was part of Jiraiya's plan, but if so, Kakashi wasn't sure what sort of spin to put on it. "I'll go and fetch him, then, shall I?"

He was gone before she could stop him.

Jiraiya and he had planned to stress to Tsunade that Team Seven had needed to try their own way to save Sakura. If things had progressed any longer as they were, with training that didn't go anywhere and without anything to strive forward, Naruto and Sasuke would have eventually lost patience, grabbed Sakura, and skipped town. Sasuke had already proved that if push came to shove, he would look for his solutions elsewhere, and Naruto... Naruto still wanted to become Hokage, but Hokage was abstract, far away, and his lovers and potential child weren't.

If Sakura had died -- Tsunade couldn't deny how likely that had been, even with her emergency, last-resort measures, however much she downplayed it for the children -- Konoha would have lost them both forever.

With Koharu around, though... The old woman already thought that Tsunade was way too personally attached to what amounted to a living, ticking time-bomb; she didn't need more ammunition to use against Naruto. Kakashi was also pretty sure that amongst the ANBU were a few of Danzou's men, and Danzou didn't bother hiding that he thought Sasuke should have been destroyed the second they brought him back; at most, he would compromise far enough to accept that Sasuke would only be executed after making sure they had enough sperm samples to preserve the Sharingan genes.

Kakashi didn't have enough pull to smooth out the whole incident with Tsunade herself, much less with her advisors, and his allegiance was already suspect as it was. Teachers were supposed to be fond of their students, but apparently not when the students were a traitor and a demon. Who would have known.

He had expected Jiraiya to be inside, checking on Sakura's seal. But Jiraiya was sitting alone on the gallery, a strange chagrined-yet-amused look on his face. He smirked up at Kakashi as Kakashi approached.

"Tsunade-sama is asking for you," Kakashi said first, just for the pleasure of watching that smugness falter a bit. "How do their seals check out?"

Jiraiya pushed himself up, another smirk blooming on his face. "I wouldn't know."

Kakashi arched his visible eyebrow. If the seals were stable now, they would hold on a little while longer, but still.

"I'll check later," Jiraiya added breezily. "It's going to take a while anyway, and Tsunade will be very displeased if her explanation has to wait that long. You're welcome to check on them, of course; I took down the barrier around the dojo."

He walked away from the house, long ponytail swinging with his purposeful steps. Kakashi watched him go, trying to shake off the unpleasant feeling that the man had omitted some critical piece of information.

When he stepped up on the gallery and nudged open the door to the living room where his kids had made their bed, he got an unwelcome confirmation. Tsunade's displeasure was probably the last thing on Jiraiya's mind when he decided to push back the check-up.

Also, the kids weren't in the dojo anymore.

Kakashi pulled the door closed again, turned around, walked to the other end of the gallery in silence and sat down, wondering if there was a way, other than head trauma, to unsee what he'd seen. He had never really wanted to know that his adorable students were bendy and motivated enough to do Volume 2, page 35. Really.

Annoying little brats.

He was really quite glad today wouldn't be the day he lost one of them.


End file.
